The Grand Chess Tour, one of the biggest series on the annual Chess calendar, concluded on October 3. The finale of the tenth edition of this tour was held in front of a packed crowd at the World Trade Center Events Center in São Paulo, the tour's first-ever stop in South America.
After almost two weeks of quality action, GM Fabiano Caruana clinched his second Grand Chess Tour title, beating GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 15:13 in the Final. The American also etched his name into an already illustrious list of past champions thanks to his multiple victories on this tour.
The 2025 Grand Chess Tour Finals, which served as the culmination of this year's Grand Chess Tour series and featured the top four regular-season finishers, carried a prize pool of $350,000. Caruana pocketed $150,000 for his triumph, while Vachier-Lagrave became richer by $100,000.
Having been a game away from losing, Caruana battled back to clinch his second Grand Chess Tour trophy. Understandably proud of the win, he said, "If I could pick one thing to win this year, I think it would be the Grand Chess Tour. It's so prestigious, so difficult. Many of the same players, [like] Levon, we played in that tournament. It's good to still be with the guys who I consider colleagues for so many years, and friends for so many years, and also with Pragg, one of the leaders of the new generation."
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The third-place match was contested between GM Levon Aronian and GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, with the former easing to a 20:8 win. The former took home $60,000 and a place in next year's Grand Chess Tour alongside the top two finishers.
The 2025 Grand Chess Tour Finals reached 18,709 Peak Viewers (PV) during the Final between Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave. This was a relatively low figure for the finale of an event of this magnitude, as the absence of a larger field of players, including star names like GMs Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, played its part.
Nevertheless, it brought to a close another successful season of the Grand Chess Tour, which consistently attracts top names due to its prestigious reputation. The focus will not shift to other top-tier Chess competitions, and Chess Watch will keep readers updated on any major results or news coming out of the community.
