Sinquefield Cup: Fighting for spots in the revamped GCT Finals

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/18/2025 – The Sinquefield Cup will take place in St. Louis from 18 to 28 August, bringing together ten elite players in a single round-robin classical event. As the final stage of the Grand Chess Tour before the Finals in São Paulo, the tournament carries extra weight, with qualification spots still undecided. The strong field will be led by defending champion Alireza Firouzja, top seed Fabiano Caruana, GCT standings' leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (pictured) and reigning classical chess world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. | Photo: Crystal Fuller
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Elite, classical chess in Saint Louis

The 2025 Sinquefield Cup will be held in Saint Louis, Missouri, from 18 to 28 August. The tournament, organised by the Saint Louis Chess Club, is the second classical event of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT). Taking place at Vue 17 University Club Tower, it represents one of the most prestigious stops on the tour, both for its history and for the decisive role it plays in determining the qualifiers for the GCT Finals.

The format is a ten-player single round-robin with classical time controls. Competitors will have 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, after which they receive 30 additional minutes, with a 30-second increment from the first move. In the event of a tie for first place, a playoff system involving rapid and blitz games, and if necessary an Armageddon decider, will determine the winner. The total prize fund is set at 350,000 US dollars.

As the final leg of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour before the Finals in São Paulo, the Sinquefield Cup has considerable importance. Tour points are awarded based on placement, with the top four players across all events earning places in the GCT Finals scheduled for late September. This is the first time the tour will feature a final event of this nature since 2019.

After four events, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has a clear lead in the overall standings. Although he is not officially qualified, only a specific combination of players at the top plus him getting last place would leave him out of the Finals. Levon Aronian, Alireza Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana are placed second to fourth, but will need good performance to prevent the likes of Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Wesley So or Nodirbek Abdusattorov to overtake them in the race to get a spot in São Paulo.

Grand Chess Tour 2025

The playing schedule begins on 18 August and runs through 27 August, with a rest day on 23 August. The final round and any necessary playoffs will take place on 27 August, followed by the closing ceremony.

The field features many of the world's strongest players, representing a blend of youth and experience. Defending champion Alireza Firouzja returns, joined by established stars such as Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, as well as younger challengers including Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Dommaraju Gukesh and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Jan-Krzysztof Duda completes the roster of full-tour participants, with US grandmaster Sam Sevian taking part as the tournament's wildcard.

Sinquefield Cup 2025

All games - 2024 edition

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.