CAPE TOWN – German tech magnate and investor Jan Henric Buettner, now based in Wilderness on South Africa’s Garden Route, is bringing one of the world’s most prestigious chess tournaments — the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour — to the Cape.
Buettner, a pioneering Internet entrepreneur, partnered with five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen to launch the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, a groundbreaking series of Chess960 tournaments that is reshaping competitive chess.
The global tour, which has already made stops in Paris, Las Vegas, and Karlsruhe, is regarded as a highlight of the international chess calendar. South Africa’s inclusion as a host country is a first, and insiders say it would not have happened without Buettner’s initiative.
Buettner is widely recognized as a pioneer in mobile technology, Internet innovation, and venture capital. Now, he is making his mark on the world of chess.
He began his career as a trainee at Axel Springer AG, where he gained early experience in interactive media and telecommunications. In 1992, he launched the world’s first multimedia online service, which laid the foundation for the creation of AOL Europe in 1995.
By 2000, Buettner and media giant Bertelsmann had sold their stakes in AOL for $10 billion, after which he became head of AOL Germany. He later moved to the United States and founded BV Capital, now known as Headline Ventures, a California-based venture capital firm.
Between 1998 and 2007, Buettner invested more than $1 billion in emerging technology companies, including GoToMeeting, Groupon, and Sonos.
After years living between Hamburg, New York, Santa Barbara, and Weissenhaus, Buettner has settled in Wilderness, a small coastal town in South Africa’s Western Cape.
Randomized starting positions
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour brings together the world’s top 25 players in a format designed to revolutionise the sport, drawing inspiration from Formula 1’s global tour model.
Unlike traditional chess, Chess960, also known as Fischer Random Chess, features randomized starting positions, removing the advantage of memorized opening preparation. Carlsen has long been an advocate for this format, describing it as a more creative and unpredictable version of the game.
Each tour event carries a $750,000 prize fund, with future editions expected to rise to $1 million, making it the richest series in chess history.
The tour’s first four legs were held Germany (two tournaments), France, the United States.
The fifth and final event of the 2025 season will take place in South Africa, at the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve near Hermanus, from 8 to 11 December 2025.
Worlds best players heading to South Africa
The Grootbos event will mark the first time South Africans can watch the world’s elite grandmasters compete live on home soil. Expected participants include Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju.
Other likely contenders include Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian, ensuring a star-studded lineup for the tour’s grand finale.
With its mix of innovation, glamour, and global appeal, the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour promises to elevate both chess and South Africa’s position on the international sporting stage.
