India, June 27 -- D Gukesh will be skipping the upcoming Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, with the official line-up being announced last Tuesday. The reigning world champion put in underwhelming performances at the Paris and Weissenhaus Grand Slams.

He was recently in action at Norway Chess 2025, where he finished in third position behind winner Magnus Carlsen and second-placed Fabiano Caruana.

Speaking to TimesofIndia.com, Freestyle Chess CEO and co-founder Jan Henric Buettner opened up on Gukesh's absence from the Las Vegas roster. "He said he's exhausted and needs rest," he said.

"His performances have not been that good at any Grand Slam. We were always expecting that he would decline to participate in the next event.

"Anyway...