Levon Aronian won the Grand Chess Tour Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz in convincing fashion, finishing three points ahead of runner-up Fabiano Caruana.
Held at the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri, from August 11–15, the final rapid and blitz event of the 2025 season featured six full-tour players and four wildcards. The tournament included nine rounds of rapid (2 points for a win, 1 for a draw), followed by eighteen rounds of blitz (1 point for a win), for a total of 135 games across five days.
The rapid section turned into an exciting race between Caruana and Aronian. After defeating his main rival in their head-to-head clash, Caruana topped the rapid standings with an excellent 14/18, while Aronian trailed just one point behind.
The oldest participant in the field, Aronian carried his strong form into the blitz, notably winning both games against Caruana and securing the title with two rounds to spare.
Caruana, the leader after the rapid, struggled in the blitz as surprising mistakes and blunders crept into his play. Even so, his strong rapid result was enough to keep him in second place, just half a point ahead of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
Despite finishing only sixth in the blitz, the Frenchman retained his third overall position and, thanks to that result, climbed to the top of the Grand Chess Tour standings—most likely punching his ticket to the Tour Finals in São Paulo.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who started the blitz segment seventh in the standings, produced a remarkable surge by tying for first place in the blitz portion and ultimately finishing fourth, just half a point behind MVL.
World Champion Gukesh D delivered a solid showing in the rapid, but a seventh-place finish in the blitz left him in the sixth position overall.
Photos: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes
Official website: grandchesstour.org/