Caruana Claims Second Grand Chess tour Title in Dramatic Sao Paulo Final
Sao Paulo, Brazil – October 3, 2025 – Fabiano Caruana has emerged victorious from the 2025 Grand Chess tour Finals, securing his second title in the prestigious tournament after a hard-fought battle against Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. The American Grandmaster defeated his indian opponent in a single-elimination knockout, culminating a week of intense competition at the São Paulo event.
The $350,000 final event of the 2025 Tour featured the top four players – Caruana, Praggnanandhaa, Levon Aronian, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – vying for the Grand Chess Tour title and a $150,000 top prize.each match consisted of eight games: two classical, two rapid, and four blitz, with scoring of 6/3/0 for classical wins/draws/losses, 4/2/0 for rapid, and 2/1/0 for blitz.
Earlier in the tournament, Levon Aronian secured third place after defeating Praggnanandhaa in a decisive match. Aronian won the first three rapid games, rendering the remaining blitz games unneeded despite being played according to regulations. He attributed his success to a critical blunder by his opponent in the opening game, calling it “horrendous” and stating, “I think this of course is the type of blunder that is very difficult to come back from.” Aronian won the first rapid game with the black pieces, capitalizing on a tactical opportunity similar to the Siberian Trap in the Smith-Morra Gambit.he then extended his lead in the second rapid game, stating, “I am sort of a guy that is terrible when I’m fighting for a draw, so I kept telling myself, I shouldn’t be playing for a draw, I should be playing chess.”
while Aronian’s victory secured his spot in the 2025 Grand Chess Tour, the final showdown between Caruana and Praggnanandhaa proved to be a captivating contest. Details of their match will be released shortly.
The 2025 Grand Chess Tour Finals marks the conclusion of this year’s tour, hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club. Chess fans can look forward to future high-profile events, including an upcoming match between garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand.
