GCT Superbet Poland: Firouzja and Fedoseev Take the Lead After Day 2
The 2025 Grand Chess Tour (GCT) kicked off with the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament, held from April 26–30 at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. This marks the first of five prestigious events in the 2025 GCT, featuring a $1.5 million prize fund and a stellar lineup of chess elites. The tournament is a 10-player round-robin that blends rapid (25 minutes + 10-second increment) and blitz (5 minutes + 2-second increment) formats, with rapid games ongoing as of April 28.
After six rounds of rapid chess, Grandmasters Vladimir Fedoseev and Alireza Firouzja share the lead with 8/12 points each. Fedoseev dominated early, scoring 5/6 on day one, while Firouzja’s resilience has kept him neck-and-neck. Trailing closely is the wild-card, India’s Aravindh Chithambaram with 7/12, bolstered by a win and two draws on day two.
Other notable players include chess legend Veselin Topalov, Levon Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Indian prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa who is yet to find his rhythm in the competition.
The tournament’s rapid phase concludes April 28, followed by blitz on April 29–30. With three rapid rounds left, the competition remains wide open, setting the stage for intense battles as players vie for tour points and a $175,000 prize pool. The top four GCT players will qualify for the finals in Sao Paulo, Brazil, adding stakes to every move. Fans can follow live updates on Chess.com, where the event showcases the strategic brilliance of the world’s chess elite.
Official website: https://grandchesstour.org/
