GMs , , and all won to catch GM in the lead on 6.5/9 with two rounds to go. Firouzja won a wild 82-move clash against previous co-leader GM , Giri caught GM in the endgame, and Keymer bamboozled GM in a complex struggle. There are seven players only half a point behind, including round-eight winners GMs , , and .
GM had a huge chance to snatch the lead in the , but allowed GM to escape and remain half a point ahead on 7/9. Assaubayeva is joined by GM , GM , and IM , while GMs and won to retain some Candidates hopes on 6/9.
This is a flash report—come back later for full player quotes and analysis!
Round ten is on Sunday, September 14, starting at 6 a.m. ET / 12:00 CEST / 3:30 p.m. IST.
Standings
We now have four leaders and a seven-player chasing pack going into the final two rounds of the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand.
FIDE Grand Swiss Standings After Round 9
Lagno retained the sole lead in the Women’s Grand Swiss with four players only half a point behind.
FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Standings After Round 9
Open: Firouzja, Giri, Keymer Catch Bluebaum In Lead
Six of the top-10 games were decisive with some heroic battles stretching into the eighth hour of play.
Round 9 Results: Open
Our Game of the Day is German number-one Keymer’s fifth win in Samarkand, and likely a game that ends Maghsoodloo’s hopes of qualifying for the Candidates via the Grand Swiss. GM will analyze it below.
The round-nine upsets were topped by a second loss to a teenager in two days for GM , who this time fell to 15-year-old U.S. GM , and GM taking down former world championship challenger GM .
FIDE Grand Swiss Round 9 Upsets
Player (Seed)
FED
Rtg
Result
Player (Seed)
FED
Rtg
GM Levon Aronian (8)
2744
0 – 1
GM Andy Woodward (108)
2557
GM Alexander Donchenko (74)
2624
1 – 0
GM Pavel Eljanov (27)
2682
GM Boris Gelfand (44)
2652
0 – 1
GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (110)
2528
GM A.R. Saleh Salem (58)
2640
0 – 1
GM Alexandr Predke (90)
2609
GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (91)
2608
1 – 0
GM Etienne Bacrot (61)
2637
GM Andrei Volokitin (67)
2628
0 – 1
GM Aditya Mittal (104)
2589
It’s likely only the top-six boards in round-10 will count in the battle for the Candidates places, since the players on 5.5/9 will need 2/2 and a lot to go their way above them to still finish in the top-two spots.
FIDE Grand Swiss Round 10 Pairings (Top 14)
#
White
FED
Rtg
Result
Black
FED
Rtg
1
GM Alireza Firouzja (6.5)
2754
–
GM Anish Giri (6.5)
2746
2
GM Vincent Keymer (6.5)
2751
–
GM Matthias Bluebaum (6.5)
2671
3
GM Yu Yangyi (6)
2714
–
GM Arjun Erigaisi (6)
2771
4
GM Nihal Sarin (6)
2693
–
GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (6)
2748
5
GM Abhimanyu Mishra (6)
2611
–
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (6)
2738
6
GM Hans Moke Niemann (6)
2733
–
GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (5.5)
2785
7
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (5.5)
2742
–
GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (5.5)
2681
8
GM Amin Tabatabaei (5.5)
2673
–
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (5.5)
2741
9
GM Jorden van Foreest (5.5)
2692
–
GM Javokhir Sindarov (5.5)
2722
10
GM Ivan Saric (5.5)
2655
–
GM Vidit Gujrathi (5.5)
2712
11
GM Shant Sargsyan (5.5)
2653
–
GM Richard Rapport (5.5)
2711
12
GM Awonder Liang (5.5)
2698
–
GM Nikolas Theodorou (5.5)
2646
13
GM Andy Woodward (5.5)
2557
–
GM Parham Maghsoodloo (5.5)
2692
14
GM Volodar Murzin (5)
2670
–
GM Alexei Shirov (5.5)
2616
Women: Lagno Escapes Vs. Assaubayeva To Keep Sole Lead
The action on the top-two boards was intense but ended in draws, with only four decisive games on the top-10 Women’s boards, including a good day for the Muzychuk sisters.
Round 9 Results: Women
Krush’s win over former Women’s World Champion GM can’t be considered a major upset, but it did keep outside hopes alive for Krush to reach the Candidates.
FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Round 9 Upsets
Player (Seed)
FED
Rtg
Result
Player (Seed)
FED
Rtg
IM Teodora Injac (12)
2454
0 – 1
IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (33)
2385
GM Irina Krush (44)
2366
1 – 0
GM Antoaneta Stefanova (27)
2395
IM Lilit Mkrtchian (28)
2393
0 – 1
IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (37)
2379
WIM Umida Omonova (52)
2252
1 – 0
IM Nurgyul Salimova (32)
2386
WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet (51)
2299
1 – 0
IM Vantika Agrawal (35)
2381
It’s likely only the top-four boards in the Women’s Grand Swiss will matter for the Candidates spots, though Tan already having qualified increases the chances for those in the hunt.
FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Round 10 Pairings (Top 6)
#
White
FED
Rtg
Result
Black
FED
Rtg
1
GM Tan Zhongyi (6.5)
2531
–
GM Kateryna Lagno (7)
2505
2
IM Song Yuxin (6.5)
2409
–
GM Bibisara Assaubayeva (6.5)
2505
3
GM Vaishali Rameshbabu (6.5)
2452
–
GM Mariya Muzychuk (6)
2484
4
IM Guo Qi (5.5)
2371
–
GM Irina Krush (6)
2366
5
IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (5.5)
2385
–
GM Olga Girya (5.5)
2386
6
IM Polina Shuvalova (5)
2492
–
GM Anna Muzychuk (5.5)
2535
This is a flash report—come back later for full player quotes and analysis!
How to watch?
You can watch the day’s broadcast on the Chess24 or channels. The games can also be reviewed from our dedicated .
The broadcast was hosted by GM and .
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 8:
Round 7:
Round 6:
Round 5:
Round 4:
Round 3:
Round 2:
Round 1:
