Americans Sweep First and Second Place in First U.S. Stop of the Grand Chess Tour in Saint Louis
U.S. Grandmaster Levon Aronian emerged victorious at the 2025 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, conquering 27 rounds of fierce competition in one of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour’s (GCT) most electrifying events.
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U.S. Grandmaster Levon Aronian wins the 2025 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club.
“It feels great. I’ve been playing solidly, and maybe my opponents were more nervous than I was. Winning here in the city where I live, with my family and friends rooting for me, is really special. My fans and loved ones stick with me even when my play isn’t perfect, and that motivates me to keep fighting,” said Aronian. “At the end of the day, chess brings me joy, and with my family’s support—even my daughter telling me to ‘go kill them’—I feel inspired to keep going. This win means a lot, and I’m happy to add my name to this beautiful trophy.”
The tournament, hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club, awarded $175,000 in prizes including $40,000 to Aronian for his first place finish, $30,000 to GM Fabiano Caruana from the United States for finishing second place and $25,000 to GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from France for third place.
“What an incredible Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz—brilliant games, fighting spirit, and a field stacked with the very best in the world. Levon Aronian showed tremendous consistency under pressure and thoroughly deserves this win. And what a performance by the Americans, delivering a remarkable 1-2 finish that highlights the strength and depth of U.S. chess. Once again, Saint Louis has proven why it is the chess capital of the nation,” said Yasser Seirawan, Chief Commentator and Spokesperson for the Saint Louis Chess Club.
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Results
POSITION |
PLAYER |
COUNTRY |
PRIZE MONEY |
1 |
GM Levon Aronian |
USA |
$40,000 |
2 |
GM Fabiano Caruana |
USA |
$30,000 |
3 |
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave |
FRA |
$25,000 |
4 |
GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
UZB |
$20,000 |
5 |
GM Wesley So |
USA |
$15,000 |
T-6 |
GM Gukesh Dommaraju |
IND |
$10,500 |
T-6 |
GM Liem Le |
VIE |
$10,500 |
8 |
GM Leinier Dominguez |
USA |
$9,000 |
9 |
GM Grigoriy Oparin |
USA |
$8,000 |
10 |
GM Sam Shankland |
USA |
$7,000 |
Current Grand Chess Tour Leaderboard
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has a commanding lead, with GM Levon Aronian moving into second position following his win. GM Alireza Firouzja and GM Fabiano Caruana round out the top four, as the participants head into the final leg of the series, 2025 Sinquefield Cup.
POSITION |
PLAYER |
COUNTRY |
POINTS |
1 |
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave |
FRA |
28 |
2 |
GM Levon Aronian |
USA |
23.5 |
3 |
GM Alireza Firouzja |
FRA |
22.5 |
4 |
GM Fabiano Caruana |
USA |
20.5 |
5 |
GM Praggnanandhaa R. |
IND |
20 |
6 |
GM Wesley So |
USA |
19.5 |
7 |
GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
UZB |
18 |
8 |
GM Gukesh Dommaraju |
IND |
16 |
9 |
GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda |
POL |
11 |
The 2025 Sinquefield Cup will run Monday, August 18-Thursday, August 28 in Saint Louis, with live commentary from GMs Yasser Seirawan and Peter Svidler and International Master Nazi Paikidze starting at 12:20PM CDT. Tune in to the Saint Louis Chess Club's Twitch & YouTube channels.
The tour will come to a dramatic conclusion during the GCT Finals, with rounds set to begin on September 28, 2025 during its first-ever stop in South America in the vibrant Brazilian City of São Paulo. The top four finishers of the regular season of five tournaments will compete for an additional $350,000 in the knockout matches.
This year’s GCT participants are competing for a prize purse of $1.5 million over the course of the full tour. The prize fund is provided by the 2025 Grand Chess Tour major sponsors Superbet Foundation and Saint Louis Chess Club, both non-profit organizations that support chess education and the mission to expand the game of chess to a worldwide audience.
For more information about the Grand Chess Tour, visit grandchesstour.org.
Grand Chess Tour
Grand Chess Tour is a circuit of international events, each demonstrating the highest level of organization for the world's best players. The legendary Garry Kasparov, one of the world's greatest ambassadors for chess, inspired the Grand Chess Tour and helped solidify the partnership between the organizers. For more information about the tour, please visit grandchesstour.org.
Superbet Foundation
The Superbet Foundation, a non-profit organization, is responsible for coordinating the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of the Superbet Group. Their goal is to support the advancement of health, education, and sports initiatives, with a special emphasis on promoting the game of chess and its myriad benefits within all the communities they serve.
Saint Louis Chess Club
The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures. Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit saintlouischessclub.org.
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Contacts
For more information, contact:
Courtney Suthoff
media@saintlouischessclub.org