So, Niemann Share Lead; Gukesh Beats Sindarov With Fist Pump
GMs Wesley So and Hans Niemann lead 2026 Super Rapid & Blitz Poland after six rounds, with GM Vladimir Fedoseev just one point behind in sole second. Lagging two points behind him are GMs Fabiano Caruana, Gukesh Dommaraju (who will be celebrating his win in round five over GM Javokhir Sindarov), and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave scored his first win but trails four points behind the leaders, with GMs Alireza Firouzja, Sindarov, and Radoslaw Wojtaszek (who won his first game, against Gukesh) all at the bottom of the scoreboard.
Day three, featuring rapid rounds 7-9, starts Thursday, May 7, at 8 a.m. ET / 14:00 CEST / 5:30 p.m. IST.
The tournament is far from a two-horse race, but we at least have three clearly defined favorites as we head into the final day of rapid chess.
Super Rapid & Blitz Poland Standings After Day 2
The day started with no fewer than five players in the lead, but already by the end of the first round So was back in pole position. He would later be caught by Niemann in the day's last game.
On the previous day, So won two games before losing to Caruana in round three. He still shared first, but said the quality of his play was "very poor." It was "a bit better" on Wednesday, as he again won two, against Sindarov and Firouzja, before making a 14-move draw with the world champion.
The win against Sindarov, in round one, looked rather easy, and So got to show off his knowledge of the classics. In the interview, he recalled that the first 21 moves were all played by 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov (his favorite player) in Linares 1994—and on the very next move, Sindarov blundered a pawn. Even the opposite-color bishop endgame didn't save him.
The second game was a case of Firouzja going for an all-out attack when his position didn't allow for it; all he created were weaknesses around his own king, and So won in 28 moves. Firouzja's next game (mentioned later) would go a similar way.
So said in the interview that his focus this year is on classical chess, and that he won't compete in the 2026 Esports World Cup, a tournament that boasts the world's best players, including GM Magnus Carlsen, but also conflicts with the Grand Chess Tour in August. So said, "If you get invited to the Grand Chess Tour, you already don't need to play anything else in the year."
If you get invited to the Grand Chess Tour, you already don't need to play anything else in the year.
—Wesley So
Sindarov, who started the day in shared first, was the only player to lose all three games on Wednesday. After that loss against So came the much-anticipated matchup with Gukesh, their first time playing since Sindarov won the Candidates tournament.
In a bad position already, Sindarov decided to sacrifice a piece, but Gukesh defended accurately and then won the endgame with more material. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the Game of the Day below.
This victory meant a lot to the world champion, who didn't hide his emotion at the board. He gave a fist pump just after shaking hands and before resetting the pieces.
Gukesh beats Sindarov with the black pieces, and with a fist pump!https://t.co/eXqTzH9u11#GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/ZeFqSKmJZJ
— chess24 (@chess24com) May 6, 2026
Sindarov went on to lose one more game against Vachier-Lagrave, who picked up his first win in the sixth round but remains far behind the leaders.
Gukesh told GM Cristian Chirila that both players must have thought about the implications of this game. "I guess for both of us, I know also from the previous experience when I played Ding before the match, there's always something going on. It's a nice feeling." As for the fist pump, he said, "In the heat of the moment, I did something," with a smile.
In the heat of the moment, I did something.
—Gukesh Dommaraju
He also said that, in the context of this tournament alone, he was also looking to come back after losing "a horrible game against Radek" in the day's first round. This was Wojtaszek first and only win, but against the world champion, it's got to feel good no matter the circumstances!
The other hot player in Warsaw is Niemann, who drew Fedoseev in the first game of the day and ended with two wins, against Caruana and Firouzja. Niemann called the first win against Caruana "a bit shaky" but against Firouzja "incredibly smooth." He also added, "Performing this well in the Grand Chess Tour so far is a great sign for my future as a chess player. It's still a long tournament, so I'm not going to make any conclusions yet."
Caruana was, in fact, winning—until move 48 lost all control, and the turnaround was convincing after Niemann activated his king.
Niemann said that the tournament situation helped him in the matchup against Firouzja, who in yet another desperate attempt to catch up, overextended in a rook endgame he should normally never lose. With another win, Niemann caught up to the tournament leader.
In second place, and only a point behind (the equivalent of a draw), is the defending champ, Fedoseev. He made two draws, against Niemann and Duda, and was absolutely dead in the water against Wojtaszek in the last round. He not only escaped but won—noting that when his king got to safety on g2, and the position was still objectively equal, he knew he was going to win.
Fedoseev said that his tournament feels a lot better than on day one, but admitted he could have been on 50% if the game had reached its logical conclusion (a loss). Facing Sindarov with Black next, he said, "I will not change my approach, but we will see what he will change in his approach to the game."
Caruana was another player who started the day in the shared lead but wasn't able to keep up the pace. Before the loss against Niemann in round five, the first game against Firouzja was already a troubling sign as he failed to put away an exchange-up position with equal pawns.
In another missed opportunity, Caruana had a winning attack with 12.Qe2!! against Duda in round six, but instead traded queens into an endgame and drew after a marathon of 132 moves.
Duda, who made three draws on day two, is on the same score as Caruana and Gukesh. The two French players are just behind, with Vachier-Lagrave picking up his first win, with two draws, and Firouzja slumping with a draw and two losses.
The marquee matchup is indisputable in round seven, as the leaders have a direct encounter. Niemann will have the white pieces against his compatriot.
Rapid Round 7 Pairings
The live broadcast was hosted by GM Yasser Seirawan, IM Nazi Paikidze, GM Maurice Ashley, GM Cristian Chirila, IM Irine Sukandar, and WGM Anastasiya Karlovich.
The 2026 Super Rapid & Blitz Poland is the first event on the 2026 Grand Chess Tour and runs May 5-9 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. The event has a $200,000 total prize fund.
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