Niemann Beats Pragg To Join 5-Way Tie For 1st; Vaishali Catches Lagno
GM Hans Niemann's win over GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu was the only decisive game on the top-nine boards as he caught GMs Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri, Vincent Keymer, and Matthias Bluebaum in the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss lead. They're on 7/10 going into the final round after Keymer missed a huge chance to take the sole lead when he blundered a saving trick by his German compatriot Bluebaum. GMs Arjun Erigaisi, Abhimanyu Mishra, and Andy Woodward are also still in Candidates contention.
GM Vaishali Rameshbabu was losing and struggling on the clock against GM Mariya Muzychuk, but found a surprise checkmating net to win and catch GM Kateryna Lagno in the 2025 FIDE Women's Grand Swiss lead on 7.5/10. They need only a draw to clinch Candidates spots, while GM Bibisara Assaubayeva and IM Song Yuxin half a point back, and IM Ulviyaa Fataliyeva on 6.5/10, are also in the running.
Round 11 is on Monday, September 15, starting one hour earlier at 5 a.m. ET / 11:00 CEST / 2:30 p.m. IST.
- Standings
- Open: Niemann Joins Leaders As Keymer Suffers Heartbreak
- Women: Vaishali Catches Lagno In Lead Before Final Round
Standings
Going into the final round of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss, we have a remarkable five-player tie at the top, with nine players half a point behind.
FIDE Grand Swiss Standings After Round 10
Lagno and Vaishali have been frontrunners all tournament so it's fitting that Vaishali has hit the front again before the final round.
FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Standings After Round 10
Open: Niemann Joins Leaders As Keymer Suffers Heartbreak
Just two of the top-10 games were decisive in the Open section as the Candidates qualification pressure grew.
Round 10 Results: Open
Check out the full games and results.
There were four leaders on 6.5/9 going into round 10, and they faced off on the top-two boards.
Firouzja-Giri was short and dramatic, after the Dutch number-one unleashed 12...Nc3!!, giving up the bishop on b7 but forcing a draw by trapping the white queen.
That result was decent for the two leaders but also a big opportunity in the other match-up, since a winner of Keymer-Bluebaum would have one foot in the Candidates as the sole leader going into the final round.
The clash of the German numbers one and two initially seemed to be going Keymer's way as he gained a big edge out of the opening, but when queens were exchanged, it fizzled out and Bluebaum looked to be on course to make a draw. Then, in Bluebaum's words, "I just blundered like a complete idiot and I should have lost!"
Bluebaum said he sat there "hating my life because I’m not playing for anything anymore," and even when he spotted "one trick" he thought, "OK, there’s no way on earth that he’s going to blunder it, but he did!" It was Keymer's turn to feel despair as he allowed 54...Nxg3!, winning a crucial pawn and making an easy draw.
The watching GM Judit Polgar felt all Keymer's pain:
Just watch Judit Polgar's reaction as Vincent Keymer blunders the one trick Matthias Bluebaum had to save their game! https://t.co/13SfhwvllQ pic.twitter.com/3u5mYidj87
— chess24 (@chess24com) September 14, 2025
Bluebaum considered himself "insanely lucky" and went from thinking it was all over to going into the final round against Firouzja as the one player who has very good chances of qualifying for the Candidates with a draw—and can guarantee himself a spot with a win.
Despite all the draws there were intense efforts to win, and it was understandable, since for many of the players a draw ended their hopes of taking one of the two Candidates places. That was the case for GM Yu Yangyi, who missed some chances against Arjun, and for both GM Nihal Sarin and his opponent GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who drew after a game in which Nihal briefly had a winning advantage before it fizzled out just as fast.
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi pushed for 120 moves and seven hours in the longest game to finish as he tried in vain to beat GM Nodirbek Yakubboev.
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's hopes were ended by 16-year-old Mishra, who played the wild 11.Ke2! and was never in trouble in a 30-move draw.
It turns out this is just regular modern opening theory, with around 700 games played in the position. For Mishra, meanwhile, the draw isn't the end of the road, or merely his 66th classical game unbeaten (one behind the 67-game unbeaten streak Vachier-Lagrave himself set in 2015-2016).
Mishra has the best tiebreaks of any player, so that with a win over GM Vidit Gujrathi in the final round, he will qualify for the Candidates as long as no more than one of the leaders wins.
The one player on the top boards who did win to keep his hopes alive, meanwhile, is Niemann, who commented, "After the draw yesterday, I didn’t think I had any chances, so I’m glad that I at least keep them alive theoretically!" He was facing Praggnanandhaa, who would have loved to qualify via the Grand Swiss but also knows he's almost certain to qualify from the FIDE Circuit. "I was happy that he was a bit ambitious!" said Niemann of his opponent's approach.
Praggnanandhaa, like his sister Vaishali, got into deep time trouble, but he couldn't dig his way out. That's our Game of the Day, which GM Dejan Bojkov analyzes below.
That win over the pre-tournament favorite tops the list of wins by lower-rated players.
FIDE Grand Swiss Round 10 Upsets
| Player (Seed) | FED | Rtg | Result | Player (Seed) | FED | Rtg |
| GM Hans Moke Niemann (12) | 2733 | 1 - 0 | GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (1) | 2785 | ||
| GM Andy Woodward (108) | 2557 | 1 - 0 | GM Parham Maghsoodloo (21) | 2692 | ||
| GM Alexey Sarana (26) | 2686 | 0 - 1 | GM Ihor Samunenkov (109) | 2550 | ||
| GM Vladislav Artemiev (37) | 2664 | 0 - 1 | GM Maxime Lagarde (88) | 2609 | ||
| GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (45) | 2651 | 0 - 1 | GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (91) | 2608 | ||
| GM Alexandr Predke (90) | 2609 | 1 - 0 | GM Rauf Mamedov (46) | 2651 | ||
| GM Max Warmerdam (100) | 2591 | 1 - 0 | GM Daniil Yuffa (49) | 2648 | ||
| GM Jules Moussard (98) | 2591 | 1 - 0 | GM Saleh Salem (58) | 2640 | ||
| GM Maksim Chigaev (60) | 2638 | 0 - 1 | GM S L Narayanan (99) | 2591 | ||
| GM Jakhongir Vakhidov (111) | 2521 | 0 - 1 | IM Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov (114) | 2482 |
The second item is also notable, however, and not just for 15-year-old Woodward following his win over GM Levon Aronian by taking down another star, GM Parham Maghsoodloo, who had been flying high until the rest day but has now lost three times in four games.
The young U.S. grandmaster has gained 31 rating points but also, like Mishra, has an outside chance of reaching the Candidates owing to his excellent tiebreaks. First, he'll need to beat Yu, but his resounding win over Maghsoodloo suggests that's not an impossibility.
Another noteworthy victory for a young U.S. player was GM Awonder Liang's win over Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou, who earlier had defeated World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju. It's not often you see such a checkmate by promoting to a bishop!
Liang's tiebreak means he can't challenge for the Candidates spots, but he should now be 2700+ officially for the first time even if he loses in the last round to Abdusattorov—as long as he doesn't play another tournament before the end of the month.
So let's take a look at the final round pairings, where only the first three boards and boards six and seven can influence who earns the two spots in the FIDE Candidates Tournament.
FIDE Grand Swiss Round 11 Pairings (Top 7)
| # | White | FED | Rtg | Result | Black | FED | Rtg |
| 1 | GM Matthias Bluebaum (7) | 2671 | - | GM Alireza Firouzja (7) | 2754 | ||
| 2 | GM Anish Giri (7) | 2746 | - | GM Hans Moke Niemann (7) | 2733 | ||
| 3 | GM Arjun Erigaisi (6.5) | 2771 | - | GM Vincent Keymer (7) | 2751 | ||
| 4 | GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (6.5) | 2748 | - | GM Awonder Liang (6.5) | 2698 | ||
| 5 | GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (6.5) | 2738 | - | GM Nihal Sarin (6.5) | 2693 | ||
| 6 | GM Andy Woodward (6.5) | 2557 | - | GM Yu Yangyi (6.5) | 2714 | ||
| 7 | GM Vidit Gujrathi (6.5) | 2712 | - | GM Abhimanyu Mishra (6.5) | 2611 |
When it comes to calculating the players' chances, the key factor is the first tiebreak, which is based on the rating of the opponents they face and is already known.
Table at the end of Round 10 with tie-breaks.
— Chess Numbers India (@chess_insights) September 14, 2025
These are the final tie-breaks - won't change after tomorrow.
Those in red have no theoretical path to top 2. pic.twitter.com/OidRRAronF
Tai Pruce-Zimmerman has crunched the numbers:
Here is a breakdown of how the three top boards affect the Candidates qualification chances of all players with any hopes of a top two finish. Base odds going into the round, and how the odds shift based on results in the given game. pic.twitter.com/opzJ9Anwfw
— Chess by the Numbers (@ChessNumbers) September 14, 2025
We can see that Bluebaum or Firouzja guarantee a Candidates spot if they win, while Giri (98%), Niemann (95.5%), and Keymer (92.9%) all have great chances with a win. Even Arjun has above a 50% chance, but like Mishra and Woodward he absolutely must win on demand. The only player for whom it would make sense to play for a draw at the start of the day, meanwhile, is Bluebaum, who has a 91.1% chance of qualifying in that case.
Women: Vaishali Catches Lagno In Lead Before Final Round
Three of the top-four boards saw draws in round 10, but Vaishali's turnaround win gave a huge boost to her chances of defending her title and, more importantly, qualifying for the Candidates.
Round 10 Results: Women
Check out the full games and results.
The Song-Assaubayeva draw on board two was quiet, but Lagno had real chances to take over against Tan, most notably on move 20.
That draw guaranteed Lagno would go into the final round as at least the co-leader, and midway through the round, it looked more likely she'd be the sole leader, since Vaishali was in trouble.
The Indian defending champion played an interesting g4-push in the opening, but then couldn't remember or work out her planned follow-up. She got into trouble, only to rescue matters by finding an unusual mating net in the middle of the board. She confessed, "It was very nice, but I was just very lucky that she blundered into it!"
When Mariya Muzychuk stumbled into trouble with 36...Kd4?, she was down to under a minute, while Vaishali had 42 seconds on her clock.
Vaishali commented:
This is a very important win because, OK, if I had lost, no chance for tomorrow, and I think in this tournament so far this is the only game where I played bad and where I got this lucky point. Other wins were very smooth and convincing. The play could have been better, but I’ll take this win whatever!
The play could have been better, but I'll take this win whatever!
—Vaishali Rameshbabu
The other player we need to mention when it comes to the Candidates places is 29-year-old Azerbaijani IM Fataliyeva, who pounced on a mistake by GM Olga Girya as late as move 78.
The king had to go to c6 with a draw, but it went to c8.
Those results mean that going into the final round only the top-four pairings matter in the Women's section, with one curiosity being that all the matchups are between players on different numbers of points. Note also that Tan has already qualified for the Candidates, so she won't take one of the two spots on offer.
FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Round 11 Pairings (Top 4)
| # | White | FED | Rtg | Result | Black | FED | Rtg |
| 1 | GM Tan Zhongyi (7) | 2531 | - | GM Vaishali Rameshbabu (7.5) | 2452 | ||
| 2 | GM Kateryna Lagno (7.5) | 2505 | - | IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (6.5) | 2385 | ||
| 3 | GM Irina Krush (6.5) | 2366 | - | IM Song Yuxin (7) | 2409 | ||
| 4 | GM Bibisara Assaubayeva (7) | 2505 | - | GM Anna Muzychuk (6) | 2535 |
Again, the first tiebreaker is crucial:
Final tiebreaks for women.
— Chess Numbers India (@chess_insights) September 14, 2025
Vaishali can get in even with a loss!
Needs Krush to hold/win and Anna Muzychuk to hold/win. pic.twitter.com/rEBJo0yR2n
As we can see, GM Irina Krush is out of contention, since although it's possible for 7.5 to be enough to tie for first, she has worse tiebreaks than Vaishali and Lagno, who have already achieved that score. Fataliyeva, with the best tiebreak, could squeeze in that way, however.
Here are scenarios for how results on each of the top four boards of the Women's Grand Swiss could affect who earns the two Candidates berths. It's probably gonna be Lagno and Vaishali... but three other contenders are still in the mix. pic.twitter.com/MrtofSh0rZ
— Chess by the Numbers (@ChessNumbers) September 15, 2025
The main conclusion, however, is that Vaishali and Lagno can each guarantee a Candidates spot with a draw, while for Vaishali even a loss still gives her a close to 70 percent chance. Vaishali will also defend her title if she makes a draw and Lagno doesn't win.
How to watch?
You can watch the day's broadcast on the Chess24 YouTube or Twitch channels. The games can also be reviewed from our dedicated events page.
The broadcast was hosted by GM Judit Polgar and John Sargent.
The 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss and FIDE Women's Grand Swiss are 11-round Swiss tournaments taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on September 4-15. Each will decide two places in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournaments that select the next world championship challengers. The Open tournament has a $625,000 prize fund, with $90,000 for first place, while the Women's is $230,000 ($40,000). The time control is classical, with a longer time control for the Open of 100 minutes/40 moves + 50 min/20 + 15 min, with a 30-second increment from move 1.
Previous coverage:
- Round 9: Firouzja, Giri, Keymer Join Grand Swiss Lead With 2 Rounds To Go
- Round 8: Lagno Overtakes Vaishali In Women's; Nihal, Bluebaum Lead Open
- Round 7: Nihal, Bluebaum Grab Grand Swiss Lead; Gukesh Loses 3rd Game
- Round 6: Maghsoodloo Leads Grand Swiss As Gukesh Loses 2nd Game In A Row
- Round 5: 16-Year-Old Mishra Youngest Player Ever To Beat World Champion In Classical Chess
- Round 4: 14-Year-Old Erdogmus Wins Masterpiece; Lagno Catches Vaishali
- Round 3: Maghsoodloo, Vaishali Take Sole Grand Swiss Lead On 3/3
- Round 2: Gukesh Misses Win Vs. 14-Year-Old Erdogmus
- Round 1: Gukesh, Firouzja Among Early Winners; Women's Favorites Toppled
- World Champion Gukesh Headlines Spectacular Grand Swiss Lineup
Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.
