Grand Chess Tour: Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia 2026

Day 1: Rapid Rounds 1 to 3 (July 1, 2026)

Firouzja made the strongest start of the field, while the bottom of the table struggled from the opening bell.

• Firouzja vs. Saric and Deac (2 wins), drew Giri: Firouzja opened with two wins over the tournament’s lower seeds before a hard-fought draw with Giri left him the sole leader on 5/6.
• Vachier-Lagrave vs. Gukesh (1-0): MVL opened with an impressive win over the reigning world champion, who never got going in round one.
• Gukesh vs. Saric (1-0): Gukesh recovered from his round-one loss with a win over the Croatian local in round two.
• Keymer’s mixed day: Keymer lost his first-round game before bouncing back with wins over Jorden van Foreest and Nodirbek Abdusattorov to reach 4/6.

Giri, Keymer, Praggnanandhaa, and Vachier-Lagrave all finished day one a point behind Firouzja on 4/6, while Van Foreest and Saric had the roughest starts in the field.

Day 2: Rapid Rounds 4 to 6 (July 2, 2026)

Firouzja extended his lead to three points, while Gukesh mounted a recovery of his own.

• Firouzja beats Keymer and Praggnanandhaa (both with black): Firouzja won difficult positions against two of the players who began the day just a point behind him, opening up a three-point lead.
• Deac vs. Gukesh (1-0): Deac began the day in style with a win over the world champion.
• Gukesh vs. van Foreest and Giri (2 wins): Gukesh bounced back with two wins to end the day tied for second alongside Deac, Keymer, and Vachier-Lagrave.
• Abdusattorov vs. Praggnanandhaa (1-0): Abdusattorov’s first win of the tournament handed Praggnanandhaa his first loss of the event.

Day 3: Rapid Rounds 7 to 9 (July 3, 2026)

The final day of rapid chess saw Firouzja caught by the field, setting up a tightly bunched leaderboard heading into the blitz.

• Praggnanandhaa beats Saric, Deac, and Giri (3 wins): A perfect final day of rapid, including a fine attacking win over Giri with the black pieces, took Praggnanandhaa to 12/18 and level with Firouzja at the top.
• Abdusattorov beats Firouzja (1-0): Firouzja drew his first game of the day against Van Foreest, then fell into a prepared line against Abdusattorov, who converted confidently to end the rapid section within a point of the lead.

The rapid section ended with Firouzja and Praggnanandhaa tied for first on 12, Vachier-Lagrave and Abdusattorov a point back on 11, and Gukesh and Keymer tied for fifth on 10.

Day 4: Blitz Rounds 1 to 9 (July 4, 2026)

Firouzja regained the sole lead with the best blitz day of the event, while Praggnanandhaa’s challenge collapsed almost as quickly as it had built.

• Firouzja’s 8/9 blitz day: An 8/9 performance moved Firouzja three points clear of the field heading into the final day, level with Magnus Carlsen’s own record blitz day at this venue.
• Praggnanandhaa’s four-game losing streak: Praggnanandhaa briefly took the sole lead in the first round of the day before four straight losses dropped him 4.5 points off the pace.
• Vachier-Lagrave and Abdusattorov both score 6/9: Both players moved into a share of second place, three points behind Firouzja, setting up the final day’s chase.

Day 5: Blitz Rounds 10 to 18 and Tiebreak (July 5, 2026)

Firouzja carried his three-point cushion into the last day and very nearly lost it entirely before an armageddon decider settled the title.

• Vachier-Lagrave beats Firouzja; Abdusattorov beats Gukesh: Both results in round one of the day closed the gap to two points.
• Firouzja’s 2/7 stretch: A loss to Keymer, who top-scored the day with 7/9 but still finished only fifth, was followed by a blundered position against Van Foreest that handed Abdusattorov the sole lead with two rounds to go.
• Firouzja beats Gukesh from a lost position: A dramatic recovery in the penultimate round leveled the score heading into the final round against Abdusattorov.
• Firouzja draws Abdusattorov in the final round: Both players finished the 27-game event tied on 23.5 points, forcing a playoff for the title.
• Armageddon tiebreak: Two 8+3 tiebreak games were drawn. In the deciding armageddon game, Firouzja needed only a draw with the black pieces and held on to win the title.

Praggnanandhaa recovered from his day-four collapse with a win over Firouzja on the final day, climbing back to a share of third with Vachier-Lagrave.