Superbet Poland: Firouzja catches Fedoseev, Topalov struggles

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
4/27/2025 – Vladimir Fedoseev and Alireza Firouzja are sharing the lead after two days of action at the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament, the opening event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour. The tournament has seen both frontrunners remain undefeated after six rounds of rapid play. Close behind are Aravindh Chithambaram, Levon Aronian, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Bogdan-Daniel Deac, while Veselin Topalov sits at the bottom of the standings | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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Two players remain undefeated

Vladimir Fedoseev and Alireza Firouzja are sharing the lead after two days of rapid chess at the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament, the inaugural event of this year's Grand Chess Tour. The competition is taking place at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.

Fedoseev had finished Saturday as the sole leader, after collecting two wins and a draw on the first day. Importantly, the Slovenian representative missed a key opportunity to defeat Firouzja in their direct encounter in round one, a result that might prove crucial in the final standings. On Sunday, Fedoseev drew all three of his games, allowing Firouzja to catch up with him at the top of the standings. Wins are worth 2 points in the rapid section, and the two co-leaders currently stand on 8 points out of a possible 12.

Firouzja had a strong start to the second day. He defeated Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in round four and then secured two draws, against Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Levon Aronian. Notably, Fedoseev and Firouzja are the only players who remain undefeated in Warsaw.

Standing one point behind the leaders is Aravindh Chithambaram. The Indian grandmaster beat Veselin Topalov in round four and followed up with two draws to remain in clear contention for first place.

Another point behind Aravindh are Aronian, Duda and Bogdan-Daniel Deac. All three have identical records after six rounds, each scoring one win, one loss, and four draws.

At the bottom of the standings is Veselin Topalov. The former FIDE world champion, who is making a rare appearance in an elite tournament at the age of 50, continued to struggle on Sunday. Much like on the first day, Topalov lost his first two games before bouncing back with a victory. In round six, he managed to defeat Praggnanandhaa, currently one of the world's top classical players after winning the Tata Steel Masters earlier this year - Topalov himself won the tournament in Wijk aan Zee twice, in 2006 and 2007, almost twenty years ago.

Alireza Firouzja, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu

Alireza Firouzja defeated Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in round four | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Veselin Topalov

Veselin Topalov facing Bogdan-Daniel Deac with black (1-0) | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Vachier-Lagrave 1-0 Gavrilescu

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 6 (win = 2pts; draw = 1pt)

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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.
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