Grand Chess Tour 2026

2026 Grand Chess Tour
2026
	R Praggnanandhaa, the winner of the Grand Chess Tour 2026
Tournament information
Dates	5 May–28 August
Host(s)	Warsaw, Poland; Bucharest, Romania; Zagreb, Croatia; St. Louis, United States
Final positions
Champion	R Praggnanandhaa
Runner-up	Fabiano Caruana
3rd place	Wesley So
Tournament statistics
Prize money leader	R Praggnanandhaa ($404,354)
Points leader	R Praggnanandhaa (35.5)

The Grand Chess Tour 2026 was a series of chess tournaments, which was the eleventh edition of the Grand Chess Tour. It consisted of six tournaments with a total prize pool of US$2 million, including two tournaments with classical time control and three tournaments with faster time controls, as well as the GCT Finals in St. Louis.^[1]

Format

The tour consisted of six tournaments. Rapid & Blitz tournaments consisted of two parts – rapid (2 points for win, 1 for draw) and blitz (1 point for win, 0.5 for draw). Combined result for both portions were counted in overall standings. Top four after 5 tournaments had qualified to the tour finals in St. Louis.^[2]

In the finals, players had played matches consisting of 2 classical games, 2 rapid games and 4 blitz games. 6 points were awarded for a win, 3 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss in classical play. In the rapid games, 4 points were awarded for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. In the blitz games, 2 points were awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.^[2]

The tour points were awarded as follows:

Place	Tour Points	Classical prize money	Rapid & Blitz prize money	GCT Finals prize money	Decisive Games Bonuses^[a]
1st	12/13*	$100,000	$50,000	$200,000	$125,000
2nd	10	$65,000	$40,000	$125,000
3rd	8	$50,000	$30,000	$75,000
4th	7	$35,000	$20,000	$50,000
5th	6	$25,000	$15,000
6th	5	$20,000	$11,000
7th	4	$18,000	$10,000
8th	3	$15,000	$9,000
9th	2	$12,000	$8,000
10th	1	$10,000	$7,000

If a player wins 1st place outright (without the need for a playoff), they are awarded 13 points instead of 12.
Tour points and prize money are shared equally between tied players.
Players receive a Decisive Games Bonus for each win scored in regular-season classical tournaments, calculated by multiplying the player's total number of wins by the total bonus prize pool divided by the total number of decisive games.

Lineup

The lineup for the tour was announced on January 27, 2026. It consists of nine players, including the top-three finishers of the previous edition. The remaining six players were selected based on several factors, including URS rating, FIDE rating, "fighting spirit and sportsmanship".^[3]

On March 31, World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju withdrew from the full-tour lineup following a series of poor results, opting to reduce his playing schedule and compete as only a wildcard in Poland and Croatia. As a result, Javokhir Sindarov, who had previously been a wildcard, replaced him as a full-tour member.^[4]

On April 23, Levon Aronian withdrew from GCT Romania, as well as from the full-tour lineup due to health reasons, and opted to participate in the Saint Louis events as a wildcard. Jorden van Foreest replaced him in the full-tour lineup.^[5]

Player	Country	FIDE rating (Jan 2026)
Fabiano Caruana	United States	2795
Vincent Keymer	Germany	2776
Anish Giri	Netherlands	2760
~~Alireza Firouzja~~	France	2759
R Praggnanandhaa	India	2758
Wesley So	United States	2743
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	France	2734
Javokhir Sindarov	Uzbekistan	2726
Jorden van Foreest	Netherlands	2703

Scheduling conflict with the Esports World Cup

On February 10, seven full tour members signed an open letter addressed to the Grand Chess Tour, requesting to adjust the dates of the Sinquefield Cup due to conflict with the chess tournament at the Esports World Cup.^[6] On the following day, the Grand Chess Tour declined to reschedule, stating that its schedule had been announced well before that of the Esports World Cup and they were not willing to break their longstanding scheduling commitments.^[7]

On July 27, Alireza Firouzja was announced to have withdrawn from the Sinquefield Cup (and thus the overall tour with accordance to the player agreement) due to the unresolved schedule conflict. Samuel Sevian replaced him as a wildcard.^[8]

Results

Tournament results

Dates	Tournament Name	Format	Host city	Winner	Runner-Up	Third Place
May 5–9, 2026	Super Rapid & Blitz Poland	Rapid & blitz	Warsaw	Hans Niemann (WC)	Fabiano Caruana	Wesley So
May 14–23, 2026	Super Chess Classic Romania	Classical	Bucharest	Vincent Keymer	Fabiano Caruana	Javokhir Sindarov Wesley So
July 1–5, 2026	Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia	Rapid & blitz	Zagreb	Alireza Firouzja	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (WC)	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave R Praggnanandhaa
August 2–6, 2026	Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz	Rapid & blitz	St. Louis	R Praggnanandhaa	Javokhir Sindarov	Wesley So
August 10–20, 2026	Sinquefield Cup	Classical		Wesley So	R Praggnanandhaa	Javokhir Sindarov Vincent Keymer
August 22–27, 2026	GCT Finals	Classical, Rapid & Blitz		R Praggnanandhaa	Fabiano Caruana	Wesley So

Tour rankings

The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.

	Player	POL	ROU	CRO	STL	SIN	Total points	Finals	Prize money
1	R Praggnanandhaa (India)	N/a	4	7.5	13	11	35.5	1st	$404,354
2	Fabiano Caruana (United States)	10	10	N/a	5	4.5	29.5	2nd	$297,958
3	Wesley So (United States)	8	7.5	N/a	8	11	34.5	3rd	$280,625
4	Vincent Keymer (Germany)	N/a	13	6	2	7.5	28.5	4th	$270,187
5	Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan)	3	7.5	N/a	10	7.5	28	N/a	$170,458
6	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)	3	4	7.5	N/a	4.5	19	N/a	$89,729
7	Anish Giri (Netherlands)	N/a	4	4	3	2	13	N/a	$67,229
8	Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands)	N/a	4	2	5	1	12	N/a	$58,416
–^[b]	Alireza Firouzja (France)	6	1	11	N/a	N/a	–	N/a	$72,500
	Hans Niemann (United States)	13	N/a	N/a	N/a	N/a	13	N/a	$50,000
	Levon Aronian (United States)	N/a	N/a	N/a	7	4.5	11.5	N/a	$47,312
	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan)	N/a	N/a	11	N/a	N/a	11	N/a	$42,500
	Gukesh Dommaraju (India)	5	N/a	5	N/a	N/a	10	N/a	$22,000
	Vladimir Fedoseev (Slovenia)	7	N/a	N/a	N/a	N/a	7	N/a	$20,000
	Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania)	N/a	4	3	N/a	N/a	7	N/a	$37,416
	Leinier Dominguez (United States)	N/a	N/a	N/a	5	N/a	5	N/a	$12,000
	Samuel Sevian (United States)	N/a	N/a	N/a	N/a	4.5	4.5	N/a	$27,312
	Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland)	3	N/a	N/a	N/a	N/a	3	N/a	$9,000
	Radosław Wojtaszek (Poland)	1	N/a	N/a	N/a	N/a	1	N/a	$7,000
	Ivan Šarić (Croatia)	N/a	N/a	1	N/a	N/a	1	N/a	$7,000
	Awonder Liang (United States)	N/a	N/a	N/a	1	N/a	1	N/a	$7,000

Tournaments

Super Rapid & Blitz Poland

The first leg of the Grand Chess Tour was held in Warsaw, Poland from May 5–9.

2026 GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland, May 5–9 Warsaw, Poland
	Player	Rapid	Blitz	Total	Tour Points	Prize money	Circuit
1	Hans Niemann (USA)	13	9½	22½	WC (13)	$50,000	12.96
2	Fabiano Caruana (USA)	9	13	22	10	$40,000	9.43
3	Wesley So (USA)	12	9	21	8	$30,000	8.25
4	Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO)	11	7	18	WC (7)	$20,000
5	Alireza Firouzja (FRA)	6	11½	17½	6	$15,000
6	Gukesh Dommaraju (IND)	9	8	17	WC (5)	$11,000
T–7	Javokhir Sindarov (UZB)	8	8½	16½	3	$9,000
T–7	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)	8	8½	16½	3	$9,000
T–7	Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL)	9	7½	16½	WC (3)	$9,000
10	Radosław Wojtaszek (POL)	5	7½	12½	WC (1)	$7,000

2026 GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland – Rapid, May 5–7 Warsaw, Poland
	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points
1	Hans Niemann (USA)	2646	Does not appear	1	1	2	2	2	1	1	2	1	13
2	Wesley So (USA)	2705	1	Does not appear	2	0	1	1	1	2	2	2	12
3	Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO)	2690	1	0	Does not appear	2	1	1	2	0	2	2	11
T–4	Fabiano Caruana (USA)	2727	0	2	0	Does not appear	1	0	2	1	1	2	9
T–4	Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL)	2683	0	1	1	1	Does not appear	0	1	1	2	2	9
T–4	Gukesh Dommaraju (IND)	2682	0	1	1	2	2	Does not appear	0	2	1	0	9
T–7	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)	2735	1	1	0	0	1	2	Does not appear	2	0	1	8
T–7	Javokhir Sindarov (UZB)	2727	1	0	2	1	1	0	0	Does not appear	1	2	8
9	Alireza Firouzja (FRA)	2755	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	1	Does not appear	1	6
10	Radosław Wojtaszek (POL)	2612	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	Does not appear	5

2026 GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland – Blitz, May 8–9 Warsaw, Poland
	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points
1	Fabiano Caruana (USA)	2749	Does not appear	1 ½	0 1	½ 0	1 ½	1 1	1 1	0 1	1 1	½ 1	13
2	Alireza Firouzja (FRA)	2796	0 ½	Does not appear	1 0	1 1	½ 0	1 1	1 1	1 0	½ 1	½ ½	11½
3	Hans Niemann (USA)	2699	1 0	0 1	Does not appear	0 ½	½ ½	1 1	0 0	0 1	0 1	1 1	9½
4	Wesley So (USA)	2798	½ 1	0 0	1 ½	Does not appear	½ 1	½ ½	0 0	½ 1	1 ½	0 ½	9
T–5	Javokhir Sindarov (UZB)	2662	0 ½	½ 1	½ ½	½ 0	Does not appear	0 ½	1 1	½ 1	½ 0	½ 0	8½
T–5	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)	2761	0 0	0 0	0 0	½ ½	1 ½	Does not appear	½ ½	1 1	½ ½	1 1	8½
7	Gukesh Dommaraju (IND)	2646	0 0	0 0	1 1	1 1	0 0	½ ½	Does not appear	0 ½	1 1	½ 0	8
T–8	Radosław Wojtaszek (POL)	2558	1 0	0 1	1 0	½ 0	½ 0	0 0	1 ½	Does not appear	0 0	1 1	7½
T–8	Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL)	2743	0 0	½ 0	1 0	0 ½	½ 1	½ ½	0 0	1 1	Does not appear	0 1	7½
10	Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO)	2756	½ 0	½ ½	0 0	1 ½	½ 1	0 0	½ 1	0 0	1 0	Does not appear	7

Super Chess Classic Romania

The second leg of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour was held in Bucharest, Romania from May 14–23.

2026 GCT Super Chess Classic, May 14–23 Bucharest, Romania, Category XX (2743.8)
	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points	Tour Points	Prize Money	Decisive Games Bonus	Circuit
1	Vincent Keymer (GER)	2759	Does not appear	½	0	½	½	1	1	½	1	+^[c]	6	13	$100,000	$31,250	26.82
2	Fabiano Caruana (USA)	2788	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	1	5½	10	$65,000	$20,833	19.50
T–3	Javokhir Sindarov (UZB)	2776	1	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	1	0	½	½	5	7.5	$42,500	$20,833	8.53
T–3	Wesley So (USA)	2754	½	½	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	½	½	+^[c]	5	7.5	$42,500	$0	8.53
T–5	Anish Giri (NED)	2767	½	½	½	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	0	1	4½	4	$18,000	$10,416
T–5	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)	2717	0	½	½	½	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	1	4½	4	$18,000	$10,417
T–5	Jorden van Foreest (NED)	2735	0	½	0	½	½	½	Does not appear	½	1	+^[c]	4½	4	$18,000	$10,416
T–5	R Praggnanandhaa (IND)	2733	½	0	1	½	½	½	½	Does not appear	½	½	4½	4	$18,000	$10,416
T–5	Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU)	2650	0	½	½	½	1	½	0	½	Does not appear	+^[c]	4½	WC (4)	$18,000	$10,416
10	Alireza Firouzja (FRA)	2759	-^[c]	0	½	-^[c]	0	0	-^[c]	½	-^[c]	Does not appear	1	1	$10,000	$0

Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia

The third leg of the Grand Chess Tour was held in Zagreb, Croatia from July 1–5.^[10]

2026 GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia, July 1–5 Zagreb, Croatia
	Player	Rapid	Blitz	Total	TB	Tour Points	Prize money	Circuit
1	Alireza Firouzja (FRA)	12	11½	23½	2	11	$47,500	10.58
2	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB)	11	12½	23½	1	WC (11)	$42,500	9.47
T–3	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)	11	10½	21½		7.5	$25,000	3.90
T–3	R Praggnanandhaa (IND)	12	9½	21½		7.5	$25,000	3.90
5	Vincent Keymer (GER)	10	10	20		6	$15,000
6	Gukesh Dommaraju (IND)	10	8½	18½		WC (5)	$11,000
7	Anish Giri (NED)	8	9	17		4	$10,000
8	Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROM)	7	8	15		WC (3)	$9,000
9	Jorden van Foreest (NED)	7	5½	12½		2	$8,000
10	Ivan Šarić (CRO)	2	5	7		WC (1)	$7,000

2026 GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia – Rapid, July 1–3 Zagreb, Croatia
	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points
1	Alireza Firouzja (FRA)	2748	Does not appear	2	1	0	1	2	1	2	1	2	12
2	R Praggnanandhaa (IND)	2690	0	Does not appear	1	0	1	2	2	2	2	2	12
3	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)	2701	1	1	Does not appear	1	2	1	1	2	1	1	11
4	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB)	2686	2	2	1	Does not appear	1	0	1	1	1	2	11
5	Gukesh Dommaraju (IND)	2684	1	1	0	1	Does not appear	1	2	0	2	2	10
6	Vincent Keymer (GER)	2627	0	0	1	2	1	Does not appear	1	1	2	2	10
7	Anish Giri (NED)	2664	1	0	1	1	0	1	Does not appear	1	2	1	8
8	Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROM)	2613	0	0	0	1	2	1	1	Does not appear	0	2	7
9	Jorden van Foreest (NED)	2597	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	Does not appear	2	7
10	Ivan Šarić (CRO)	2595	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	Does not appear	2

2026 GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia – Blitz, July 4–5 Zagreb, Croatia
	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points
1	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB)	2820	Does not appear	0 ½	1 ½	1 ½	0 ½	1 1	1 1	1 ½	½ 1	½ 1	12½
2	Alireza Firouzja (FRA)	2791	1 ½	Does not appear	½ 0	1 0	1 0	½ ½	1 1	1 ½	1 0	1 1	11½
3	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)	2730	0 ½	½ 1	Does not appear	1 0	1 0	½ ½	1 0	1 ½	½ 1	½ 1	10½
4	Vincent Keymer (GER)	2621	0 ½	0 1	0 1	Does not appear	0 1	0 ½	1 ½	0 ½	1 1	1 1	10
5	R Praggnanandhaa (IND)	2712	1 ½	0 1	0 1	1 0	Does not appear	½ ½	0 0	0 1	0 1	1 1	9½
6	Anish Giri (NED)	2642	0 0	½ ½	½ ½	1 ½	½ ½	Does not appear	½ 0	½ ½	½ 1	½ 1	9
7	Gukesh Dommaraju (IND)	2655	0 0	0 0	0 1	0 ½	1 1	½ 1	Does not appear	½ 1	1 0	1 0	8½
8	Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROM)	2649	0 ½	0 ½	0 ½	1 ½	1 0	½ ½	½ 0	Does not appear	1 ½	½ ½	8
9	Jorden van Foreest (NED)	2687	½ 0	0 1	½ 0	0 0	1 0	½ 0	0 1	0 ½	Does not appear	0 ½	5½
10	Ivan Šarić (CRO)	2600	½ 0	0 0	½ 0	0 0	0 0	½ 0	0 1	½ ½	1 ½	Does not appear	5

First place play-off
	Player	Rapid rating	1	2	Armageddon	Score
1	Alireza Firouzja (FRA)	2748	½	½	Win	2
2	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB)	2686	½	½	Loss	1

Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz

The fourth leg of the Grand Chess Tour was held in St. Louis, United States from August 2–6.^[10]

2026 GCT Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, August 2–6 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
	Player	Rapid	Blitz	Total	Tour Points	Prize money	Circuit
1	R Praggnanandhaa (IND)	12	11½	23½	13	$50,000	13.67
2	Javokhir Sindarov (UZB)	11	11	22	10	$40,000	9.94
3	Wesley So (USA)	10	10½	20½	8	$30,000	8.70
4	Levon Aronian (USA)	9	10	19	WC (7)	$20,000
T–5	Fabiano Caruana (USA)	8	9	17	5	$12,000
T–5	Jorden van Foreest (NED)	8	9	17	5	$12,000
T–5	Leinier Domínguez (USA)	9	8	17	WC (5)	$12,000
8	Anish Giri (NED)	9	6½	15½	3	$9,000
9	Vincent Keymer (GER)	9	5½	14½	2	$8,000
10	Awonder Liang (USA)	5	9	14	WC (1)	$7,000

2026 GCT Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz – Rapid, August 2–4 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points
1	R Praggnanandhaa (IND)	2701	Does not appear	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	0	2	12
2	Javokhir Sindarov (UZB)	2730	1	Does not appear	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	11
3	Wesley So (USA)	2700	1	1	Does not appear	1	1	1	1	2	0	2	10
4	Leinier Domínguez (USA)	2655	1	1	1	Does not appear	1	1	1	1	1	1	9
5	Anish Giri (NED)	2659	1	1	1	1	Does not appear	1	1	1	1	1	9
6	Vincent Keymer (GER)	2637	0	1	1	1	1	Does not appear	1	1	2	1	9
7	Levon Aronian (USA)	2750	0	1	1	1	1	1	Does not appear	1	2	1	9
8	Fabiano Caruana (USA)	2701	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	Does not appear	1	2	8
9	Jorden van Foreest (NED)	2596	2	0	2	1	1	0	0	1	Does not appear	1	8
10	Awonder Liang (USA)	2549	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	1	Does not appear	5

2026 GCT Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz – Blitz, August 5–6 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points
1	R Praggnanandhaa (IND)	2707	Does not appear	½ ½	½ ½	½ ½	½ ½	½ 0	1 1	1 1	½ 1	1 ½	11½
2	Javokhir Sindarov (UZB)	2716	½ ½	Does not appear	½ ½	½ ½	1 0	1 ½	0 1	1 ½	½ 1	½ 1	11
3	Wesley So (USA)	2764	½ ½	½ ½	Does not appear	0 1	0 1	½ ½	1 ½	1 ½	½ 0	1 1	10½
4	Levon Aronian (USA)	2715	½ ½	½ ½	1 0	Does not appear	1 1	½ 1	0 0	1 0	1 ½	0 1	10
5	Fabiano Caruana (USA)	2741	½ ½	0 1	1 0	0 0	Does not appear	1 1	½ ½	½ ½	½ 0	1 ½	9
6	Awonder Liang (USA)	2565	½ 1	0 ½	½ ½	½ 0	0 0	Does not appear	1 0	1 ½	1 1	½ ½	9
7	Jorden van Foreest (NED)	2653	0 0	1 0	0 ½	1 1	½ ½	0 1	Does not appear	½ 0	1 1	1 0	9
8	Leinier Domínguez (USA)	2591	0 0	0 ½	0 ½	0 1	½ ½	0 ½	½ 1	Does not appear	½ ½	1 1	8½
9	Anish Giri (NED)	2655	½ 0	½ 0	½ 1	0 ½	½ 1	0 0	0 0	½ ½	Does not appear	½ ½	6½
10	Vincent Keymer (GER)	2650	0 ½	½ 0	0 0	1 0	0 ½	½ ½	0 1	0 0	½ ½	Does not appear	5½

Sinquefield Cup

The fifth leg of the Grand Chess Tour was held in St. Louis, United States from August 10–20.^[10]

2026 GCT Sinquefield Cup, August 10–20 St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XX (2747.8)
	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points	TB	Tour Points	Prize Money	Decisive Games bonus	Circuit
1	Wesley So (USA)	2765	Does not appear	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	5½	1+A	11	$87,500	$15,625	23.54
2	R Praggnanandhaa (IND)	2750	½	Does not appear	1	0	½	½	1	½	½	1	5½	1	11	$77,500	$23,438	21.06
T–3	Javokhir Sindarov (UZB)	2777	½	0	Does not appear	1	½	½	½	½	½	1	5	Does not appear	7.5	$42,500	$15,625	8.67
T–3	Vincent Keymer (GER)	2767	½	1	0	Does not appear	1	0	½	½	1	½	5	Does not appear	7.5	$42,500	$23,437	8.67
T–5	Fabiano Caruana (USA)	2792	0	½	½	0	Does not appear	1	½	½	½	1	4½	Does not appear	4.5	$19,500	$15,625
T–5	Levon Aronian (USA)	2721	½	½	½	1	0	Does not appear	½	½	½	½	4½	Does not appear	4.5 (WC)	$19,500	$7,812
T–5	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)	2713	½	0	½	½	½	½	Does not appear	1	½	½	4½	Does not appear	4.5	$19,500	$7,813
T–5	Samuel Sevian (USA)	2701	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	Does not appear	1	½	4½	Does not appear	4.5 (WC)	$19,500	$7,812
9	Anish Giri (NED)	2764	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	0	Does not appear	1	4	Does not appear	2	$12,000	$7,813
10	Jorden van Foreest (NED)	2728	0	0	0	½	0	½	½	½	0	Does not appear	2	Does not appear	1	$10,000	$0

First place play-off
	Player	Rapid rating	1	2	Armageddon	Score
1	Wesley So (USA)	2700	½	½	Draw	1½
2	R Praggnanandhaa (IND)	2701	½	½	Draw	1½

Grand Finals

The GCT Finals were held in St. Louis, United States from August 22–27.^[10]

Semifinals						Finals

1	R Praggnanandhaa	9	8	2	19

4	Vincent Keymer	3	0	6	9
						1	R Praggnanandhaa	3	8	4	15

						3	Fabiano Caruana	9	0	4	13
2	Wesley So	6	4	2	12

3	Fabiano Caruana	8	4	6	18	Third place


						4	Vincent Keymer	8	4	0	12

						2	Wesley So	6	4	8	18

Notes

↑ Only for regular-season Classical tournaments
↑ Firouzja withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup after choosing to compete in the Esports World Cup. In accordance with his player agreement, he was also deemed to have withdrawn from the whole tour, and all the tour points earned by him were nullified.^[8]
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Firouzja suffered an ankle injury after Round 3 and eventually withdrew after having played five out of nine games, thereby his remaining games against Keymer, van Foreest, So and Deac resulting in forfeit losses^[9]

References

↑ "Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana from United States Crowned Winner of 2025 GCT Finals and Overall GCT Champion". Grand Chess Tour. October 3, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
1 2 "2026 Grand Chess Tour Regulations".
↑ "Where The Winners Play: Grand Chess Tour Unveils 2026 Field Set to Compete for $2 Million in Prize Money". Grand Chess Tour. January 27, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
↑ "Grand Chess Tour Announces Update to 2026 Full Tour Lineup". Grand Chess Tour. March 31, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
↑ "Jorden Van Foreest Joins The Lineup As A Full-Tour GCT Player". Grand Chess Tour. April 23, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
↑ @Vachier_Lagrave (February 10, 2026). "Two major chess events. One calendar clash. We've published an open letter calling for better coordination between the 2026 Grand Chess Tour and the Esports World Cup — so qualified players can compete in both" (Tweet). Retrieved July 28, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
↑ "Official Statement from the Grand Chess Tour". Grand Chess Tour. February 11, 2026. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
1 2 "Alireza Firouzja withdraws from the 2026 Grand Chess Tour". Grand Chess Tour. July 27, 2026. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
↑ "Alireza Firouzjav Withdraws from Super Chess Classic Romania 2026". Grand Chess Tour. May 20, 2026. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
1 2 3 4 "Grand Chess Tour Unveils 2026 Wildcards and Event Lineups for Poland, Romania and Croatia". Grand Chess Tour. March 4, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.

[3] Only for regular-season Classical tournaments

[Alireza-10] Firouzja withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup after choosing to compete in the Esports World Cup. In accordance with his player agreement, he was also deemed to have withdrawn from the whole tour, and all the tour points earned by him were nullified.^[8]

[a-11] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Firouzja suffered an ankle injury after Round 3 and eventually withdrew after having played five out of nine games, thereby his remaining games against Keymer, van Foreest, So and Deac resulting in forfeit losses^[9]

[1] "Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana from United States Crowned Winner of 2025 GCT Finals and Overall GCT Champion". Grand Chess Tour. October 3, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2026.

[:Reg-2] 1 2 "2026 Grand Chess Tour Regulations".

[:0-4] "Where The Winners Play: Grand Chess Tour Unveils 2026 Field Set to Compete for $2 Million in Prize Money". Grand Chess Tour. January 27, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.

[5] "Grand Chess Tour Announces Update to 2026 Full Tour Lineup". Grand Chess Tour. March 31, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.

[6] "Jorden Van Foreest Joins The Lineup As A Full-Tour GCT Player". Grand Chess Tour. April 23, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.

[7] @Vachier_Lagrave (February 10, 2026). "Two major chess events. One calendar clash. We've published an open letter calling for better coordination between the 2026 Grand Chess Tour and the Esports World Cup — so qualified players can compete in both" (Tweet). Retrieved July 28, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).

[8] "Official Statement from the Grand Chess Tour". Grand Chess Tour. February 11, 2026. Retrieved July 28, 2026.

[Alireza-9] 1 2 "Alireza Firouzja withdraws from the 2026 Grand Chess Tour". Grand Chess Tour. July 27, 2026. Retrieved July 27, 2026.

[12] "Alireza Firouzjav Withdraws from Super Chess Classic Romania 2026". Grand Chess Tour. May 20, 2026. Retrieved May 23, 2026.

[:2-13] 1 2 3 4 "Grand Chess Tour Unveils 2026 Wildcards and Event Lineups for Poland, Romania and Croatia". Grand Chess Tour. March 4, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.

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