The first event of the Grand Chess Tour 2025 season is Superbet Rapid and Blitz. This is the tenth anniversary of the GCT. R Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram will be the two Indians taking part in this event. They will battle against Alireza Firouzja (FRA), Levon Aronian (USA), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), Veselin Topalov (BUL), Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU) and David Gavrilescu (ROU). Who do you think will win this tournament? It takes place at Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland. Round 1 starts today from 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Round 1: MVL vs Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh vs Bogdan-Daniel
Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2025 participants
| Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Schedule and Format
Superbet Rapid and Blitz will have three rounds per day in the Rapid portion from 26th to 28th April. The Blitz event will take place on 29th and 30th April. It will be a double round-robin event for the Blitz which means nine rounds will be played on each day. Round 1 starts at 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control for Rapid will be 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment.
Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2025 schedule | Photo: Grand Chess Tour
Venue: Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland | Photo: Grand Chess Tour
Participants
The lineup includes the World no.7 - R Praggnanandhaa, World no.10 and Grand Chess Tour 2024 winner - Alireza Firouzja (FRA), World no.11 - Aravindh Chithambaram, World no.14 and only two-time FIDE World Cup winner in history - Levon Aronian (USA), World no.16 and FIDE World Cup 2021 winner - Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL), World no.17 - Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO), World no.24 and World Blitz 2021 Champion - Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), former World Champion and World no.27 - Veselin Topalov (BUL), Romania no.1 and World no.52 - Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Romania no.6 - David Gavrilescu.
The participants of the Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2025 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour
Rapid and Blitz Round 1 pairings | Photo: Gramd Chess Tour
Prize
The total prize fund for each of the Rapid and Blitz event is US$ 175000. The top three prizes are US$ 40000, $30000 and $25000.
Photo Gallery
R Praggnanandhaa got number 7 in Rapid | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
National hero of Poland - Jan-Krzysztof Duda playing simultaneous exhibition games | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Jan-Krzysztof Duda got number 3 in Rapid and 7 in Blitz at Draw of Lots | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Inaugural first move | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Aravindh Chithambaram playing simul | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Did Aravindh Chithambaram drew a lucky number 10? | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
A cheerful musical performance by artists using cello and violin | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Former World Champion - Veselin Topalov drew number 9 in Rapid | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
David Gavrilescu drew number 1 in Blitz
| Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
The maestro Levon Aronian got number 3 in Blitz | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Who will win this beautiful Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2025 trophy?
| Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Watch live commentary
Watch Rapid Round 1-3 live commentary by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal | Video: ChessBase India
