Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh set to face Firouzja, Aronian, Duda and co. at Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2025
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
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.
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.
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
