Grand Chess Tour, Saint Louis: Gukesh drops to sixth spot after first day of blitz section

D. Gukesh slipped from fourth to sixth spot on the penultimate day at the Grand Chess Tour event in Saint Louis after the first nine rounds of the blitz section.

Gukesh, the reigning world champion in classical chess, had four losses and as many draws while he could manage only a solitary win over American Leinier Dominguez on Thursday. The Indian, who finished the rapid section with 10 points, added three more to his tally.

USA’s Levon Aronian leads with 19 points while Fabiano Caruana, his compatriot, is second with 17 points.

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Format

The 10-player event is a single round robin in the Rapid section, with two points for a win and one for a draw. After nine rounds, the Blitz section will follow — a double round robin with one point for a win and 0.5 for a draw. The player with the highest total points across both formats will be crowned champion.

The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz is the fourth leg of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour and the final rapid-and-blitz event of the season.