Five-time World Champion and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, former FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov, rising Indian star Aravindh Chithambaram and more join tour as Wild Card Contenders
Grand Chess Tour (GCT), a leading global circuit of international chess tournaments featuring the world's best players, announced today the players selected as wild cards for the first three international legs of the tour.
Superbet Rapid Blitz Poland: April 24-May 1, 2025 in Warsaw, Poland
Superbet Rapid Blitz Poland,sponsored by the Superbet Foundation, will kick off the GCT as 10 players battle for $175,000 in prizes. The event will feature five full-tour players and five wild card players including:
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev (Slovenia)
- GM Aravindh Chithambaram (India)
- GM Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)
- GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania)
- GM David Gavrilescu (Romania)
The complete field for the first leg in Poland includes:
Player Name | Highlights | Country | Role | FIDE Standard Rating (Feb '25) | URS Rating (Feb '25) |
GM Alireza Firouzja | 2022 and 2024 GCT Champion | FRA | Full Tour | 2760 | 2789 |
GM Levon Aronian | 2024 American Cup Winner; Two-time World Cup Champion | USA | Full Tour | 2745 | 2762 |
GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 2025 Tata Steel Champion | IND | Full Tour | 2741 | 2749 |
GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 2021 Fide World Cup Winner; GCT Full Tour Wild Card | POL | Full Tour | 2739 | 2768 |
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 2023 GCT Runner-up Winner, 2024 GCT 3rd place | FRA | Full Tour | 2729 | 2761 |
GM Aravindh Chithambaram | Prague Chess Festival Masters 2025 Champion | IND | Wild Card | 2729 | 2731 |
GM Vladimir Fedoseev | 2021 FIDE World Cup Semi-finalist | SVN | Wild Card | 2724 | 2736 |
GM Veselin Topalov | 2005-2006 FIDE World Champion | BUL | Wild Card | 2717 | 2635 |
GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac | Highest-rated Romanian player | ROU | Wild Card | 2692 | 2688 |
GM David Gavrilescu | Reigning Romanian champion | ROU | Wild Card | 2543 | 2564 |
Superbet Chess Classic Romania: May 5-17, 2025 in Bucharest, Romania
The Superbet Chess Classic Romania, sponsored by the Superbet Foundation, is the first classical event in the 2024 Tour, with a 10-player round-robin format and a total of $350,000 in prizes. The tournament will feature all nine full-tour players and one wild card player including:
- GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania)
The complete field for the second leg in Romania includes:
Player Name | Highlights | Country | Role | FIDE Standard Rating (Feb '25) | URS Rating (Feb '25) |
GM Fabiano Caruana | Ranked No. 2 in the world, 2023 GCT Champion, Reigning Four-time US Champion | USA | Full Tour | 2803 | 2783 |
GM Gukesh Dommaraju | Reigning World Champion | IND | Full Tour | 2777 | 2744 |
GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2021 World Rapid Championship Winner | UZB | Full Tour | 2766 | 2773 |
GM Alireza Firouzja | 2022 and 2024 GCT Champion | FRA | Full Tour | 2760 | 2789 |
GM Wesley So | 2022 GCT Runner-up Winner, 2021 GCT Winner | USA | Full Tour | 2749 | 2772 |
GM Levon Aronian | 2024 American Cup Winner; Two-time World Cup Champion | USA | Full Tour | 2745 | 2762 |
GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 2025 Tata Steel Champion | IND | Full Tour | 2741 | 2749 |
GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 2021 Fide World Cup Winner; GCT Full Tour Wild Card | POL | Full Tour | 2739 | 2768 |
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 2023 GCT Runner-up Winner, 2024 GCT 3rd place | FRA | Full Tour | 2729 | 2761 |
GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac | Highest-rated Romanian player | ROU | Wild Card | 2692 | 2688 |
SuperUnited Rapid Blitz Croatia: June 30-July 7, 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia
SuperUnited Rapid Blitz Croatia is the second rapid and blitz event of the tour with a total prize fund of $175,000. The tournament will feature all seven full-tour players and three wild card players including:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
- GM Anish Giri (Netherlands)
- GM Ivan Saric (Croatia)
The complete field for the third leg in Croatia includes:
Player Name | Highlights | Country | Role | FIDE Standard Rating (Feb '25) | URS Rating (Feb '25) |
GM Fabiano Caruana | Ranked No. 2 in the world, 2023 GCT Champion, Reigning Four-time US Champion | USA | Full Tour | 2803 | 2783 |
GM Gukesh Dommaraju | Reigning World Champion | IND | Full Tour | 2777 | 2744 |
GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2021 World Rapid Championship Winner | UZB | Full Tour | 2766 | 2773 |
GM Alireza Firouzja | 2022 and 2024 GCT Champion | FRA | Full Tour | 2760 | 2789 |
GM Wesley So | 2022 GCT Runner-up Winner, 2021 GTC Winner | USA | Full Tour | 2749 | 2772 |
GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 2025 Tata Steel Champion | IND | Full Tour | 2741 | 2749 |
GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 2021 Fide World Cup Winner; GCT Full Tour Wild Card | POL | Full Tour | 2739 | 2768 |
GM Magnus Carlsen | 2013-2023 World Champion; Highest-rated player in the World | NOR | Wild Card | 2833 | 2833 |
GM Anish Giri | 2023 Tata Steel Champion | NLD | Wild Card | 2728 | 2735 |
GM Ivan Saric | Highest rated Croatian GM | CRO | Wild Card | 2661 | 2649 |
"Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the GCT, we wanted to bring together legendary players who have been an integral part of the tour over the years, such as World No. 1 and two-time GCT champion Magnus Carlsen, former GCT champions Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, alongside rising stars of the new generation like Aravindh Chithambaram and Vladimir Fedoseev," said Michael Khodarkovsky, Executive Director of the GCT. "This dynamic field of full-tour and wild card players promises us thrilling and exciting competitions throughout the year."
Tour participants will compete for a recently increased prize purse of $1.6 million over the course of the 2025 season. The prize fund for each of the two classical tournaments will be $350,000 and $175,000 per event for rapid and blitz. Top four finishers of the regular season of five tournaments will compete for the purse of additional $350,000 in the knockout matches at the GCT finals.
"The Superbet Foundation is proud to support the GCT and its mission to bring world-class chess to a global audience. The 10th anniversary lineup features remarkable players who we believe will inspire even more people, especially young minds, to engage with the game and develop a lifelong passion for it," said Augusta Dragic, President of the Superbet Foundation.
The prize fund is provided by the 2025 GCT major sponsors Superbet Foundation and The 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, visit grandchesstour.org.
Grand Chess Tour
Grand Chess Tour (GCT) 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 GCT 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. Our 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 we 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:
GCT Public Relations
Email: press@grandchesstour.org
