GCT Finals SF G2: A quick day
GM R Praggnanandhaa opted for the Caro-Kann with the black pieces in the second Semifinal game of Grand Chess Tour 2025 Finals. The World Blitz 2021 champion got surprised momentarily. However, the game ended in a draw in just 21 moves. The battle between Levon Aronian (USA) and Fabiano Caruana (USA) also ended in a draw. It lasted five more moves than the other game. Both games finished in under two hours. All four players have six points each. Two Rapid and four Blitz games will be played. Semifinal continues today at 3 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
Two calm draws in under two hours
Replay live stream
Schedule and Format
The GCT Final will take place from 28th September to 3rd October. There is no rest day. Each round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. IST. The last day on 3rd October games will start at 1 p.m. local time, 9:30 p.m. IST. Each match will have two Classical, two Rapid and four Blitz games, irrespective of the results, all games will be played. Check the image below for a detailed schedule.
Time control
Classical: 40 moves in 90 minutes + 30 minutes for the remainder + 30-second increment from move no.1
Rapid: 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment
Blitz: 5 minutes + 2 seconds increment
Scoring
● Classical Games: 6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss
● Rapid Games: 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss
● Blitz Games: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss
Each match will therefore be scored out of a total of 28 possible points, with a total of at least 15 points being required to win each match.
Prize
The total prize fund for the Grand Finals is US$ 350000. The prizes are US$ 150000, $100000, $60000 and $40000.
