Pragg, So, Caruana and Keymer
The Finals come immediately after the Sinquefield Cup, the last regular-season event of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu finished the season at the top of the standings with 35½ tour points, one point ahead of Wesley So on 34½. Fabiano Caruana took third place on 29½, while Vincent Keymer secured the fourth and final qualifying spot with 28½, only half a point ahead of Javokhir Sindarov.
The final standings also determined the seeding for the knockout stage. Top seed Pragg will face fourth-seeded Keymer in one semifinal, while second seed So will take on third seed Caruana in the other. The winners will meet in the championship match, while the two losing semifinalists will play for third place. An additional incentive is attached to the final classification, as the top three finishers will receive invitations to the 2027 Grand Chess Tour.
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Become a master of chess strategy – get Robert Ris’s complete bundle now at a special price!The 2026 season featured two classical tournaments and three rapid and blitz events before the Finals. The circuit began in Warsaw with the Super Rapid & Blitz Poland, followed by the Super Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest, the Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia in Zagreb, the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz and the Sinquefield Cup. The Finals will therefore be the third consecutive GCT event held in Saint Louis this summer.
Format
As in 2025, each knockout match combines all three time controls. The players contest two classical games, two rapid games and four blitz games, with every scheduled game played even if the overall match has already been decided.
The following time controls will be used for all matches:
- Classical: 90 minutes for 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game with a 30-second increment from move 1.
- Rapid: Game in 25 minutes, with a 10-second increment from move 1.
- Blitz: Game in 5 minutes, with a 2-second increment from move 1.
Points will be allocated to each game within the respective matches as follows:
- Classical: 6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss
- *Blitz bonus match: 2 points for a win, 0 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss
- Rapid: 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss
- Blitz: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss
(*) Only played if both classical games end drawn
The Trompowsky is especially suited for faster time controls as you don‘t have to memorise endless lines of theory, and you push your opponent out of their comfort zone after your second move.
Nowadays, the list of requirements for an opening repertoire is long: being sound and sustainable; not requiring much memorisation; offering great attacking chances; making your opponent think early on etc… The time of finding a minimal advantage from the opening has passed, and we are better off with a more practical approach - simply understanding the position better than our opponent does. The Repertoire for White 1.d4 ... 2.Bg5! from IM Robert Ris answers all these requirements!
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 Be7/d5/c5
- Blitz bonus match: If both classical games in a match are drawn, a blitz match will be played, commencing no later than 15 minutes after the completion of the second classical game in that match. The players will contest blitz games with alternating colours until one player wins a game, at which time the bonus match will end.
Each match will therefore be scored out of a total of 28 possible points, or 30 possible points if a Blitz Bonus Match was required, with a total of at least 15 points (or 16 points if a Blitz Bonus Match took place) being required to win each match.
The GCT Finals returned to the tour in 2025 - they had also taken place in 2018 and 2019 - and featured Fabiano Caruana (winner), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (runner-up), Levon Aronian (third place) and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. The event took place at the World Trade Center in São Paulo. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Schedule
The semifinals begin on Saturday 22 August with the first classical games, followed by the second classical encounters on Sunday. The rapid and blitz portions will be played on Monday 24 August. The championship match and third-place match will follow the same three-day structure from Tuesday to Thursday, with classical games on 25 and 26 August and the rapid and blitz games on 27 August. Play begins at 12.00 local time (19.00 CEST).
- Semifinals: 22-24 August
- Final and match for third place: 25-27 August
The prize fund has been increased to $450,000, compared with $350,000 at the 2025 Finals in São Paulo. The winner will receive $200,000, with $125,000 going to the runner-up, $75,000 to the third-place finisher and $50,000 to the player finishing fourth.
The venue is the Saint Louis Chess Club in the city's Central West End, directly opposite the World Chess Hall of Fame. The club has been expanded into a 30,000-square-foot campus, with upgraded playing areas, classrooms, a chess-themed restaurant and a dedicated production studio among the additions.
Live coverage will be available through the Saint Louis Chess Club's YouTube and Twitch channels, with the commentary team led by Yasser Seirawan.
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