Fedoseev Bursts Out To 3.5-Point Lead Ahead Of Final Day
GM Vladimir Fedoseev leads the 2025 Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland by nearly four points going into the final day. After previously making six draws to end the rapid portion, he nearly "pulled a Magnus" on the first day of blitz by scoring a remarkable 8/9.
While Fedoseev has great chances to run away with it, there are several players in close contention for the second spot. GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu is in sole second even despite losing his first two games of the day. He's followed by three players a point behind: GMs Levon Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Aravindh Chithambaram.
The last day starts two hours earlier. That'll be on Wednesday, April 30, at 6 a.m. ET / 12:00 CEST / 3:30 p.m. IST.
- Standings
- Everything Works Out For Fedoseev
- Praggnanandhaa, Aronian, MVL Rise; Aravindh, Firouzja Slide
At the start of the day, there were three players in the lead: Fedoseev, Aravindh, and GM Alireza Firouzja. Both Aravindh and Firouzja slid down the standings, while Fedoseev flourished.
Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland Standings After Blitz Day 1
Everything Works Out For Fedoseev, Firouzja Slides
Whether his position was good, bad, or equal, it seemed that Fedoseev won them all on Tuesday. He made the most of his opportunities and he slipped out of some very difficult spots as well. At the end of the day, he said:
I feel very lucky... I think in many games I've been lucky. At the same time, it was such a wild day when in most of the games all kinds of results were possible. They had a lot of time troubles as well. It's probably my best day of blitz at the end.
It's probably my best day of blitz at the end.
—Vladimir Fedoseev
He won seven games and drew two. The one against Praggnanandhaa was a miracle save from a piece-down endgame, while he could even have won the last game against Firouzja.
The Russian-born Slovenian GM had plenty of help, it can't be denied. In round two, Aravindh over-pressed in an opposite-color bishop endgame with queens on, rather than trade queens for a safe draw. GM Peter Svidler said of the late-blooming Indian GM's overoptimism: "I think experience will teach him not to do these things."
But the game against GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda was an even bigger gift. The 27-year-old Polish number-one, who mentioned "If I was younger I think I would have won the first four games," gave himself some false praise for the following game: "I had to show some really special talent to lose that game. I mean, it was very, very silly, I was two pawns up for nothing."
I had to show some really special talent to lose that game.
—Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Luck or no luck, Fedoseev created his chances with the desperate, albeit successful, h4-h5 pawn thrust.
Fedoseev hasn't lost a single one of his 18 games in Warsaw. If there's one he came closest to losing on Tuesday, it's the one against Praggnanandhaa. Though, as GM Yasser Seirawan pointed out in the time scramble: "I think both players had four chances of winning this game."
The last blunder was the Indian's, when he was safely up a full bishop. 81...Bc2?? ran into the one-move fork below, and ultimately it was Praggnanadhaa who had to hold a pawn-down rook endgame to draw the game.
Fedoseev, about that unbelievable save, said, "We had some really dramatic game with some really low quality of play. It happens in blitz."
The same cannot be said of the quality in his interesting battle against Aronian in the penultimate round, in a Petroff that got funky real quick. By this point, Aronian was his closest trailer, though still behind by three points. Fedoseev's ability to set practical issues for his opponents from an inferior position was on full display in this one. GM Dejan Bojkov annotates the Game of the Day below.
Fedoseev can't really ask for more ahead of the final day, but he said he's famous for losing important games at the end of tournaments. How will he handle the most crucial games tomorrow? He said, "In my opinion, the best way to deal with decisive games, important for the result, is not to play them... better to win earlier!"
In my opinion, the best way to deal with decisive games, important for the result, is not to play them!
—Vladimir Fedoseev
Praggnanandhaa, Aronian, MVL Rise; Aravindh, Firouzja Slide
Praggnanandhaa started the day with two back-to-back losses, but in his interview he pointed out that this isn't such a big deal in speed chess events. "It's a long event and you just have to keep going," said the Indian GM, reminding us that in Tata Steel Chess India 2024 he started with three losses, then won seven in a row, and then lost four in a row, "so all these streaks are possible in these events."
Game two, which he lost against Aronian, showed that Fedoseev wasn't the only one who got away with dubious play in the blitz. GM Maurice Ashley pointed out a nice line, with 10.Be5!, that would have punished Black's "loosey-goosey" opening play. The Armenian-American got away with it this time.
Still, Pragg went on to win five, draw against Fedoseev (as we saw above), and lose one against Duda.
Vachier-Lagrave only made one draw on Tuesday, against Aravindh in the last round. Besides that, he also started with two losses but went on to win five games (and lose one more against Praggnanandhaa). His win against GM David Gavrilescu was the start of a four-game winning streak, and 25.Ne6!? was a pretty overload tactic, even though it should not have been a winning move!
Ashley found a hidden gem in the game Firouzja vs. Vachier-Lagrave in round eight that just has to be shown. In an incredibly sharp Sicilian Najdorf, Vachier-Lagrave had to find the only winning (and only non-losing move) 29...Bxd4! with the incredible follow-up of 30.Qxd4 Ne4!!. Have you ever seen so many pins?
Anyway, that tactic had little to do with the result, as Firouzja achieved a winning position but went on to lose after many see-saws in evaluation.
Vachier-Lagrave said in his interview, "Things started to go my way in these tense fights," giving the above game as an example of one he should have lost. "Somehow when you get into some sort of flow in blitz it's helpful."
Firouzja and Aravindh still have scores decent enough to put them in contention for second (and, mathematically, first, if only Fedoseev nosedives). But they're bolstered by their performances in the rapid.
Across nine rounds, Aravindh scored just 3.5 points, and Firouzja 3 (the same as GM Veselin Topalov).
There's one more day and nine more rounds of blitz before we have a winner. As Vachier-Lagrave put it, "There's a huge pack fighting for second place and I'm glad to be part of it after what looked to be a very bad day at the office."
The live broadcast was hosted by GM Yasser Seirawan, IM Nazi Paikidze, GM Peter Svidler, GM Maurice Ashley, and WGM Anastasiya Karlovich.
The 2025 Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland is the first event on the 2025 Grand Chess Tour and runs April 26-30 in the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland. The 10 players first compete in a single rapid round-robin with a time control of 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move, followed by a blitz double round-robin with a 5+2 time control.
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