Levon Aronian wins Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2025; World Champion Gukesh finishes joint sixth

The fourth event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour, the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2025, ended on Friday, August 15, with Levon Aronian lifting the title. The Armenian-American grandmaster played solid and attacking chess throughout and finished on 24.5 points, a full three points ahead of the rest of the field.

Aronian sealed the title with two rounds to spare after drawing French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Aronian won against Sam Shankland in the final round, which earned him the top prize of $40,000 (Rs 35 lakh).

American GM Fabiano Caruana, who drew with Leinier Dominguez in the final round, came second on 21.5 points, taking home $30,000 (Rs 26 lakh). Maxime Vachier-Lagrave finished in third place with 21 points and a prize money of $25,000 (Rs 21 lakh).

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Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan finished fourth on 20.5 points, while Wesley So ended fifth with 19 points. World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju shared sixth place with Vietnam’s Liem Le, both scoring 18 points. After losing to Caruana in Round 15, Gukesh drew his next three games.

With this victory, Aronian also earned 13 Grand Chess Tour points, putting himself firmly in the race for the overall GCT title.

Meanwhile, Gukesh will now train his sights for the next event that starts in just two days. The Sinquefield cup is the last event before the finals of the Grand Chess tour and Gukesh will be joined by compatriot R Praggnanandhaa for the event.

It will be time to change gears as the Sinquefield cup will be played under Classical chess rules – the forte of Gukesh.

Standings after Blitz Round 18

(With agency inputs)