Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja Wins Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
Final Leg of the Grand Chess Tour Kicks Off Today in Saint Louis
SAINT LOUIS, MO. (August 19, 2024) – As an integral component of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) since 2017, the 2024 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament did not disappoint with 27 rounds of fast-paced action, culminating in a championship for French Grandmaster (GM) Alireza Firouzja on Friday, Aug. 16.
“I'm feeling very happy about my success; it’s a good feeling to play in this club,” said Firouzja. “The GCT is one of the most important events of the year and I’m looking forward to playing in the final tournament and hope to finish strongly.”
The tournament, hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club and held at the World Chess Hall of Fame, awarded $175,000 in prizes including $40,000 to Firouzja for his first-place finish, as well as $30,000 to GM Wesley So from the United States for finishing in second place and $25,000 to GM Hikaru Nakamura, also from the United States, for finishing in third place.
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Results
| POSITION | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE MONEY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Alireza Firouzja | FRA | $40,000 |
| 2 | GM Wesley So | USA | $30,000 |
| 3 | GM Hikaru Nakamura | USA | $25,000 |
| T-4 | GM Levon Aronian | USA | $17,500 |
| T-4 | GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | FRA | $17,500 |
| T-6 | GM Fabiano Caruana | USA | $10,500 |
| T-6 | GM Ian Nepomniachtchi | FIDE | $10,500 |
| 8 | GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov | UZB | $9,000 |
| 9 | GM Leinier Dominguez | USA | $8,000 |
| 10 | GM Praggnanandhaa R. | IND | $7,000 |
With his win, Firouzja overtook the GCT lead from GM Fabiano Caruana, as the participants head into the final leg of the series, the Sinquefield Cup.
Current Grand Chess Tour Leaderboard
| POSITION | PLAYER | COUNTRY | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Alireza Firouzja | FRA | 30.58 |
| 2 | GM Fabiano Caruana | USA | 26.75 |
| 3 | GM Wesley So | USA | 20.83 |
| 4 | GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | FRA | 19.83 |
| 5 | GM Praggnanandhaa R. | IND | 17.25 |
| 6 | GM Ian Nepomniachtchi | FIDE | 15.5 |
| 7 | GM Gukesh Dommaraju | IND | 14.25 |
| 8 | GM Anish Giri | NED | 11 |
| 9 | GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov | UZB | 10.5 |
This year’s GCT participants are competing for a prize purse of $1.5 million over the course of the 2024 season. The prize fund is provided by the 2024 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.
The 2024 Sinquefield Cup begins today, Monday, August 19, with live commentary from GM's Yasser Seirawan, Peter Svidler, Cristian Chirila and IM Nazi Paikidze starting at 1:20 p.m. CDT. Tune in to the Saint Louis Chess Club's Twitch and YouTube channels.
