2025 Grand Chess Tour Finals: Can Praggnanandhaa win the title? Preview, All you need to know

All you need to know about 2025 Grand Chess Tour Finals.

Update: 2025-09-27 10:07 GMT

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (Photo credit: Grand Chess Tour)


The countdown is on for one of the most anticipated chess events of the year. From Sunday, September 28 through Friday, October 3, the World Trade Center Events Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, will host the 2025 Grand Chess Tour Finals.

Four of the world’s elite players, who secured their spots through strong performances across the season, will now compete in a high-stakes finale that blends classical, rapid, and blitz formats.

Unlike in recent years, where the champion was decided purely on points earned across the Tour’s events, the 2025 edition revives the knockout finals system.

This format ensures a thrilling climax, with head-to-head matchups determining who will be crowned Tour Champion.

At stake is not only prestige but also a handsome $350,000 prize pool. The winner takes home $150,000, the runner-up receives $100,000, third place secures $60,000, and the fourth finalist earns $40,000.

Past Champions

Now in its 10th edition, the Grand Chess Tour has crowned some of the world’s greatest players.

Previous winners include Magnus Carlsen (2015, 2017), Wesley So (2016, 2021), Hikaru Nakamura (2018), Ding Liren (2019), Alireza Firouzja (2022, 2024), and Fabiano Caruana (2023).

The pandemic halted the 2020 edition.

Format

The structure of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour Finals offers a dramatic path to the title.

The four top finishers from the five Tour events - Rapid and Blitz Poland, Chess Classic Romania, Rapid and Blitz Croatia, St. Louis Rapid and Blitz, and the Sinquefield Cup - qualified for Sao Paulo.

Their seeding is based on cumulative points earned throughout those tournaments.

The semifinal pairings have already been set. Top seed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from France will face Indian prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, the youngest player in the field.

Meanwhile, American grandmasters Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian will go head-to-head in the other semifinal.

Format

Each match is an intense blend of time controls. Players start with two classical games, each carrying six points for a win and three for a draw.

They then move to two rapid games, worth four points per win, before finishing with four blitz encounters, worth two points each. To claim match victory, a player needs at least 15 points.

Importantly, all scheduled games are played, even if the result is already decided early.

Schedule

The 2025 Grand Chess Tour Finals will unfold across six consecutive days, with no breaks in between:

Sunday, September 28: Semifinal – classical game 1

Monday, September 29: Semifinal – classical game 2

Tuesday, September 30: Semifinal – rapid and blitz games

Wednesday, October 1: Final and 3rd place playoff – classical game 1

Thursday, October 2: Final and 3rd place playoff – classical game 2

Friday, October 3: Final and 3rd place playoff – rapid and blitz games

This demanding timetable ensures fans enjoy uninterrupted action, while players must endure a true test of skill and stamina.

The Players

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

The French number 1 has built his reputation on precision and resilience.

Known as “MVL,” he clinched the top seed by consistently finishing near the top in multiple Tour events, including strong runner-up performances in Poland and Romania.

A chess prodigy from his youth, he became a grandmaster at just 14. His career highlights include reaching a peak rating of 2819 and becoming the 2021 World Blitz Champion.

With a reputation for razor-sharp opening preparation, Vachier-Lagrave will be a formidable opponent in São Paulo.

Fabiano Caruana

The 2023 Tour Champion enters as the second seed, eager to reclaim the crown.

Caruana secured qualification with strong late-season performances, finishing second at the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz and tying for second at the Sinquefield Cup.

Ranked third in the world, he is a perennial presence at the very top of international chess.

Fans still remember his 2018 World Championship clash with Magnus Carlsen, where he pushed the reigning champion to tiebreaks.

With another Candidates Tournament already on the horizon in 2026, Caruana remains a defining figure of modern chess.

Levon Aronian

At 42, Aronian continues to impress with his competitive fire.

His victories at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas and the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz proved he remains a dangerous force.

Aronian’s resume is one of the richest in the game: two-time World Chess 960 Champion, former World Rapid and Blitz Champion, and a three-time Olympiad gold medalist with Armenia.

Since switching federations to the United States in 2021, he has added further depth to his legacy. His creativity and fighting spirit make him a crowd favorite.

R. Praggnanandhaa

India’s Praggnanandhaa, the youngest finalist, embodies the new wave of chess talent.

Still only 20, he has already made waves by winning Tata Steel 2025 and helping India capture Olympiad gold in 2024.

Praggnanandhaa secured his spot in Sao Paulo by winning the Superbet Chess Classic Romania and finishing second at the Sinquefield Cup.

Praggnanandhaa became the world’s youngest International Master at 10 and later the second-youngest grandmaster at 12.

Now, he seeks to add a Grand Chess Tour title to his growing list of achievements, challenging the established order.

Where to watch?

Fans can follow the action live on the St. Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch channels, with commentary from grandmasters Yasser Seirawan, Maurice Ashley, Peter Svidler, and others.

For those in Brazil, tickets will be available to witness the matches live at the World Trade Center in Sao Paulo, offering the rare chance to see world-class chess played in person.

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