American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana won the 2025 Grand Chess Tour finals, securing his second title after a comeback against France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Caruana claimed the $150,000 top prize, while Vachier-Lagrave took home $100,000 as runner-up. In the third-place match, Armenian GM Levon Aronian defeated India’s R. Praggnanandhaa, who finished his impressive tour campaign in fourth place with $40,000 in prize money.
The final was a tense affair, with Vachier-Lagrave winning the opening game. Followed by Caruana mounting a strong recovery, winning three consecutive games to take control. Vachier-Lagrave fell to an error under pressure in the final game, preventing a potential playoff and sealed the title for the American. "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," Caruana said, reflecting on the victory.
In the match for third place, Levon Aronian demonstrated his experience. He won three straight games, securing the victory with three games to spare. The match faltered by an error from the 20-year-old Indian in the first game. Aronian commented on the mistake, stating, "I think this of course is the type of blunder that is very difficult to come back from," later describing it as "horrendous."
Despite the loss, Praggnanandhaa’s qualification for the elite four-player finals alongside top-tier opponents marks a giant step in his career. The top three finishers; Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave, and Aronian, have now secured their places in the 2026 Grand Chess Tour. Caruana said, "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."
With the conclusion of the tour, the Saint Louis Chess Club is preparing to host a series of high-profile events in October. The schedule includes Clutch Chess: Kasparov vs. Anand, from October 6 to 11, the U.S. Championships, from October 11 to 25, and another Clutch Chess event featuring Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, and India's Gukesh D, from October 25 to 30.
