Comeback Caruana Wins GCT Finals

GM Fabiano Caruana won the 2025 Grand Chess Tour (GCT) Finals in São Paulo, Brazil, taking home $150,000 for winning his matches over GMs Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the semifinals and finals, respectively.

Aronian won $60,000 for his victory over GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in the consolation match. Vachier-Lagrave won $100,000 for his second-place finish and Praggnanandhaa took home $40,000 for qualifying for the finals. The tournament took place from September 28 through October 3, with Caruana having just enough time to make it to Dallas for Checkmate: USA vs India the next day.

Caruana signing autographs at the GCT Finals (Photo courtesy of the organizers)

The GCT format combines classical chess with rapid and blitz throughout the year-long circuit, so it only makes sense for all three time controls to be represented in the finals. Each match consisted of two classical games, two rapid games, and four blitz games. Each classical win would be worth six points, while a rapid victory would be good for four points, and a blitz would count for two points. For each format, a draw would be worth half the score of a win.

Graphic Courtesy of GCT

In the semifinals, Caruana defeated Aronian 15–13 in a match featuring seven draws out of eight games, making the third blitz game the difference-maker:

Vachier-Lagrave’s 17–11 victory over Praggnanandhaa showed why the Frenchman has been an elite force for the past decade, with even the first classical draw almost going Maxime’s way before he took the lead after the first rapid game:

In the blitz portion, Praggnanandhaa battled back, scoring his first win in the second game. But Vachier-Lagrave struck right back in the next game, taking a 15–13 lead into the final blitz game. Praggnanandhaa was unable to “win on demand” in the final game, sending Vachier-Lagrave through to the finals.

The stage during the GCT Finals (Photo courtesy of the organizers)

In the first classical game of the finals, this time it was Vachier-Lagrave who was lucky to escape with a draw. But after an uneventful second classical game, Vachier-Lagrave took the lead into the blitz portion after winning his first rapid game as White and holding a draw in the second as Black.

With the 12–8 lead going into the blitz portion — and blitz wins only worth two points apiece — oddsmakers had to be feeling good about Vachier-Lagrave’s chances. But Caruana has become a formidable blitzer over the years, as he reminded viewers on Friday. The American reeled off three straight victories to go up 14–12 before taking a draw by perpetual check in a winning position to clinch the match 15–13 in a remarkable comeback.

In the third-place match, it was all Levon from the start, as the American won 20–8 thanks to his wins in both rapid games before tallying another three wins (but one loss) in the blitz.

Keep an eye out for the dates for the 2026 tour.