St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Chess Day 1: World Champion Recovers, Shares Third Place with Another Contender Following Their First Match-up
In the opening day of the 2025 St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Tournament, Levon Aronian from Armenia made a strong start, securing a perfect score of 6/6 in the rapid segment[1]. Fabiano Caruana, the Italian grandmaster, followed closely behind with 5/6 points[1][3].
The reigning world champion, D Gukesh Dommaraju from India, suffered a loss in the first round against Aronian but bounced back with convincing victories over Grigoriy Oparin and Liem Le Quang, finishing the day with 4/6 points and sharing third place with Wesley So[3].
Notable players such as Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Nodirbek Abdosattorov, and GMs Leinier Dominguez, Liem Le Quang, Sam Shankland, and Grigoriy Oparin were also part of the wider field[1][4].
The rapid portion for Day 1 consisted of three rounds, each win counting as 2 points in the overall scoring[4].
Here's a summary of the key Day 1 standings:
| Player | Points (Day 1, Rapid) | Notes | |-----------------|----------------------|---------------------------------------------| | Levon Aronian | 6/6 | Perfect score, leader | | Fabiano Caruana | 5/6 | Strong start, 2 wins + 1 draw | | D Gukesh | 4/6 | Recovered after first-round loss | | Wesley So | 4/6 | Tied with Gukesh | | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Not specified but in top group | Participated as tour player |
The tournament continues with rapid rounds 4-6 following Day 1 and then transitions to blitz rounds, with the overall winner decided by combined points from the rapid and blitz events[1][4].
For live broadcasts and in-depth analysis, the event is being covered on Chess.com and official Grand Chess Tour YouTube channels[4][5].
It's worth noting that Sam Shankland had a challenging start with 0 points, and Magnus Carlsen is not participating in the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament.
[1] Grand Chess Tour Official Website [2] Chess.com [3] St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Day 1 Results [4] St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Tournament Schedule [5] Grand Chess Tour YouTube Channel
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