The 10th edition of the Grand Chess Tour gets underway with a rapid and blitz tournament in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday (April 26). Watch the event live online. (More Sports News)
The event features five tour players along with five wildcards. All Indian eyes will be on Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa as he takes on a strong field, which however does not include Magnus Carlsen
The 10th edition of the Grand Chess Tour gets underway with a rapid and blitz tournament in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday (April 26). Watch the event live online. (More Sports News)
This will be the first of three speed-chess events each with a cumulative prize fund of 175,000 US dollars. The event begins with nine rounds of rapid action, followed by eighteen rounds of blitz, for a total of 135 games spread across five days.
The event features five tour players along with five wildcards. All Indian eyes will be on Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa as he takes on a strong field, which however does not include Magnus Carlsen.
With his buddy Aravindh Chithambaram as company, Praggnanandhaa is one of the front runners for the title as the absence of Carlsen after two triumphs has thrown the field wide open.
Alireza Firouzja, the Iranian-turned-French, starts as another contender while his compatriot Maxime Vachier-Lagrave would like to live on the legacy built for the French players in the last decade.
While there are only two Indian contestants among the 10 players, it remains to be seen who will win the Grand Chess Tour this year — a series of events that award points based on each performance.
The absence of Magnus Carlsen stems from his own admission that the classical format no longer excites him. The world No. 1 since 2011, the Norwegian has shifted his focus to Chess960 — now rebranded as 'Freestyle Chess' — and has been enjoying remarkable success, winning the last two events he participated in over the past fortnight.
Praggnanandhaa will be the one to watch out for given his accuracy in speed chess that has scalps including that of Carlsen on a few occasions. For Aravindh Chithambaram, his foray here happened largely because he did exceedingly well to win the Prague Masters that propelled the organisers to offer him a wild card spot.
Levon Aronian and Veselin Topalov are the two most experienced players in the circuit, but it seems unlikely they will pose a serious challenge to the young cavalry.
Duda Jan-Krzyfztof of Poland and Firouzja are prime contenders as well, though those who know the pedigree of Praggnanandhaa never write him off. The Indian had done a remarkable job winning the Tata Steel Masters earlier this year, beating world champion D Gukesh and the fans will be looking for an encore from the Chennai magician.
When and where will the Grand Chess Tour, Rapid And Blitz tournament be played?
The Grand Chess Tour, Rapid And Blitz tournament will be played at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland from April 26, 2025 to April 30, 2025.
Where will the Grand Chess Tour, Rapid And Blitz tournament be live streamed?
The Grand Chess Tour, Rapid And Blitz tournament will be live streamed on the the Saint Louis Chess Club라이브 바카라 YouTube and Twitch channels, with Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan, Maurice Ashley, and Peter Svidler, IM Nazi Paikidze and WGM Anastasia Karlovich providing expert commentary.
(With PTI inputs)