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News: Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to win the prestigious Grand Chess Tour title in 2026.
About Grand Chess Tour (GCT)
- Grand Chess Tour (GCT) is an international chess circuit featuring Classical, Rapid and Blitz events.
- Founded: The inaugural GCT was held in 2015 with three Classical events.
- Format: Rapid and Blitz events were added to the tour in 2016, expanding it beyond the original Classical format.
- Structure: The GCT has a regular season followed by the GCT Finals, where the leading players compete for the title.
Grand Chess Tour (GCT) 2026
- Final venue: The 2026 GCT Finals were held at the Saint Louis Chess Club, USA, from August 22–27, 2026.
- Qualification: The top four players from the regular season qualified for the GCT Finals.
- Finalists: The four finalists were R. Praggnanandhaa, Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer.
- Final format: The Finals were conducted as a knockout tournament with semifinals, a championship final and a third-place match.
- Match format: Each match included two Classical games, two Rapid games and four Blitz games.
- Champion: R. Praggnanandhaa defeated defending champion Fabiano Caruana 15–13 in the final.
- He became the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour title.
- He also secured a guaranteed spot in the 2027 tour.
- Prize money: The total prize fund was US$450,000.
- Prize distribution: First place received US$200,000, second US$125,000, third US$75,000 and fourth US$50,000.
