Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2025 LIVE
The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2025, a cornerstone of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) since 2017, is set to deliver another thrilling display of high-stakes, fast-paced chess action. Held in the chess capital of America, Saint Louis, Missouri, this tournament is the third and final rapid and blitz event of the 2025 GCT season.
Warsaw: Grand Chess Tour 2025 Warsaw (replay) / Grand Chess Tour 2025 – Warsaw, Rapid info
Bucharest: Grand Chess Tour 2025 – Bucharest (replay) / Grand Chess Tour 2025 – Bucharest, Classical info
Saint Louis: Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2025
Running from August 11 to August 15, 2025, ten elite players will compete for a $175,000 prize fund, with the winner claiming $40,000 and valuable GCT points that could secure a spot in the prestigious GCT Finals.
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2025 live games
Live games from the tournament will be daily on Chessdom.com in cooperation with Lichess and analysis by the TCEC Grand Champion Stockfish.
Participants include Fabiano Caruana, Gukesh Dommaraju, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Lê Quang Liêm, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Sam Shankland, Grigoriy Oparin
See: calendar of World Champion Gukesh
Below is a comprehensive overview of the event, including its players, schedule, format, and more
Schedule
The tournament spans five days, with nine rounds of rapid chess played over the first three days and eighteen rounds of blitz chess played over the final two days, totaling 135 games. All times are in Central Daylight Time (CDT), which is GMT-5. Below is the detailed schedule:
- August 11, 2025 (1:00 PM CDT): Rapid Day 1 – Rounds 1–3
- August 12, 2025 (1:00 PM CDT): Rapid Day 2 – Rounds 4–6
- August 13, 2025 (1:00 PM CDT): Rapid Day 3 – Rounds 7–9
- August 14, 2025 (1:00 PM CDT): Blitz Day 1 – Rounds 1–9
- August 15, 2025 (1:00 PM CDT): Blitz Day 2 – Rounds 10–18
Format
The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz follows the GCT’s standard format for rapid and blitz events:
- Rapid (August 11–13): A single round-robin with ten players, totaling nine rounds. The time control is 25 minutes per player for the entire game, with a 10-second increment per move. A win in the rapid section awards 2 points, a draw 1 point, and a loss 0 points.
- Blitz (August 14–15): A double round-robin, with each player facing every opponent twice, totaling 18 rounds. The time control is 5 minutes per player for the entire game, with a 2-second increment per move. A win in the blitz section awards 1 point, a draw 0.5 points, and a loss 0 points.
The combined scores from the rapid and blitz sections determine the final standings. Players also earn GCT points based on their placement, which contribute to the overall tour rankings.
Games can be followed live on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch channels, with expert commentary starting at 1:00 PM CDT (20:00 CEST, 23:30 IST) daily.
The event is hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club at the World Chess Hall of Fame, with live commentary provided by renowned Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan, Peter Svidler, Cristian Chirila, and International Master Nazi Paikidze or Anastasia Karlovich. Fans can follow the action on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch channels. Spectators at the Saint Louis Chess Club can enjoy live commentary by the Grandmaster in Residence from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM CDT daily, along with complimentary snacks and beverages for members and guests.