Assaubayeva Given Surprise Freestyle Chess Ticket To Join World Stars In Las Vegas

The complete field for the $750,000 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas (July 16-20) has been revealed, with most of the world's elite competing for the $200,000 first price. The event also sees the surprise inclusion of GM-elect Bibisara Assaubayeva, the 43rd female player to become a grandmaster.

GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana, along with six other world stars had already been confirmed for Las Vegas since June 12. GM Hans Niemann secured his invitation by winning the qualification event on his birthday.

The six remaining players have now been announced, and include some familiar faces, such as GMs Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vincent Keymer, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Javokhir Sindarov, Vidit Gujrathi—and the new name Assaubayeva.

Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas

The inclusion of Assaubayeva is noteworthy, given that the remaining 15 players are all ranked among the top-50 in the world. The 21-year-old Kazakh player, however, is only ranked 547 in the world with her 2509 rating, but last month secured her grandmaster title in Sharjah, becoming only the 43rd female player to achieve that goal.

Only a handful of women in chess history have been invited to major closed events of this caliber. GM Judit Polgar was a regular at top tournaments in the 1990s and 2000s. GM Hou Yifan played multiple times in Wijk aan Zee, and Ju Wenjun participated there in 2024. Rapid events have some more examples, but this remains a rare exception.

GM Sebastian Siebrecht, tournament director for Freestyle Chess, explained that they have tried to include female players in the tour for a while. Assaubayeva was invited due to being the highest-rated player on the Freestyle Chess rating list, which was released last week. 

"It is a first step to integrate women in our circle. We already discussed different types with Judit Polgar as well. It is just a start," he told Chess.com.

Assaubayeva had Caruana hanging by the ropes in Grenke Freestyle Chess Open, but missed a win and eventually lost. In the end, she finished on 6/9, after draws against strong GMs such as Liem Le, Daniel Dardha, and Matthias Bluebaum, posting the second best female performance, behind WGM Josefine Heinemann on tiebreaks.

"I saw her play in Grenke. She has the real instinct to beat strong opponents as well. In her game against Fabiano, she was clearly winning, but just missed the end," Siebrecht said.

She has the real instinct to beat strong opponents as well.
—Sebastian Siebrecht on Bibisara Assaubayeva

Assaubayeva has long been regarded as one of the world's most promising female players, having won multiple world championships in youth events. As a 17-year-old in 2021, she became the youngest-ever Women's World Blitz Champion, a title she retained in 2022. 

She recently tied for fourth at the 2025 Cairns Cup in St. Louis, dropping a few rating points, but she remains the world's 10th highest ranked women with a 2509 rating. The 21-year-old was originally scheduled to play in the FIDE Women's World Cup, which begins in Batumi, Georgia on July 5, but has dropped out following the invitation to play in Las Vegas.

The news was met with celebration in her native Kazakhstan, where she remains a national star. She shared her excitement to her 191,000 Instagram followers.

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A post shared by Bibisara Asaubayeva (@bibisarachess)

"A 21-year-old girl getting an invitation to a closed men's super tournament featuring Carlsen, Caruana, Nakamura, and other top chess players in the world? Sounds like an unreal dream… But not in my case, because that’s exactly what happened. I’m still pleasantly shocked," she wrote.

Sounds like an unreal dream… But not in my case, because that’s exactly what happened. I’m still pleasantly shocked.
—Bibisara Assaubayeva

She thanked her mum, and added: "A tough but very exciting challenge awaits. Huge thanks to the organizers for the invitation!"

The 16 players will be split into two eight-player round-robin groups, each playing rapid games (10 minutes plus 10 seconds increment) on the opening day.

From there, the four best players in each group advance to the quarterfinal knockout bracket, while the bottom four qualify for the lower bracket. The two-game knockout matches will be played with a longer time control (30+30). 

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas, originally scheduled for New York, is the fourth leg of the tour, and the first one on U.S. soil, after previous events in Weissenhaus, Paris, and Karlsruhe.

Held in the 50,000-square-foot Lafite Ballroom at the luxurious Wynn Las Vegas hotel, the event will be the first Freestyle Chess Grand Slam stop open to live spectators. Fans can purchase tickets ranging from $90 for general admission to $550 for a VIP experience that includes player meet-and-greets and access to private booths.

Three days before the main event begins, the celebrity knockout chess event Chesstival will kick off on July 13. The fun event will feature current and former NBA stars playing for a $50,000 charitable prize fund. NBA legend and Freestyle investor Derrick Rose is expected to compete.