Grand Chess Tour Super Rapid 2026: Five players share the lead

By admin May 6, 2026 0 comments

Five players are at 4/6 after Round 3 of Grand Chess Tour Super Rapid 2026. World Champion D Gukesh scored 3/6 on the first day, having all three possible outcomes.

Caruana, Sindarov, So, Fedoseev and Niemann at 4/6 each

The World Champion, D Gukesh started the day with a draw against the World no.2 in Rapid, Alireza Firouzja. Gukesh was winning the majority of the endgame. However, he could not seize his advantage and the game ended in a draw.

Round 1: Firouzja – Gukesh: 1-1

Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 2755) and the World Champion, D Gukesh (2682) have played five Rapid rated games against each other. Gukesh won two, Firouzja one and the remaining two ended in draws. Gukesh gained a substantial advantage in the endgame. However, he could not capitalize on his chances.

Position after 35.Bc8

Black needed to keep both of his connected passed pawns 35…b5 was the correct way to continue. Instead, 35…a4 36.Bxb7 reduced Black’s chances. He got a few more before the game ended in a draw.

World Champion D Gukesh missed all his chancse to win against Alireza Firouzja (FRA) | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Greatest female chess player of all time – Judit Polgar made the ceremonial first move on two Poles’ – Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Radoslaw Wojtaszek’s board | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

A kid making a first move on Hans Niemann (USA) and Javokhir Sindarov’s (UZB) board | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Lots of cameras on Hans and Sindarov’s board | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Round 1 in progress | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Round 2: Gukesh – Hans: 0-2

Gukesh lost the second round against Hans Niemann (USA, 2646). The World Champion was down to the last few seconds when he blundered in a pawn-down rook and knight endgame.

Round 3: Duda – Gukesh: 0-2

Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL, 2683) and D Gukesh have played four Rapid rated games against each other. Duda had the white pieces in all four games. He won three and drew one. This time also, he found himslf in an advantageous position.

Position after 38…Qe5

39.Nd8! is the recommended continuation by the computer. 39.h5? started shifting things in Black’s favor Qh2 40.Qg2?? Qxh5-+ 41.f3 Rh4 42.Kg1 Bh2+ 43.Kf1 Bf4 44.Rd8 Rh1+ 45.Ke2 Rh2 and it’s over.

What Did Javokhir Do Between the Candidates & Grand Chess Tour? | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Replay live stream

Replay Super Rapid 2026 Round 1-3 live commentary by GMs Yasser Seirawan, Maurice Ashley, & Cristian Chirila, IMs Nazi Paikidze & Irene Sukandar, and WGM Anastasiya Karlovich | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Replay Round 1-3 games

Schedule and Format

Superbet Rapid and Blitz will have three rounds per day in the Rapid portion from 5th to 7th May. The Blitz event will take place on 8th and 9th May. It will be a double round-robin event for the Blitz which means nine rounds will be played on each day. Round 1 starts at 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control for Rapid will be 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment. For Blitz it is, 5 minutes + 2 seconds increment.