Round one of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss ended with a high number of draws in the Open section. By contrast, the Women’s Grand Swiss delivered early drama as several top seeds were upset by lower-rated opponents.
The first games of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss started at 3 PM local time in Samarkand. Now in its fourth edition, the event has drawn many of the world’s strongest players – including the world champion, Gukesh D – to compete in what is widely seen as the most gruelling Swiss System tournament of the year.
The round began with the traditional ceremonial first move on the top boards. Alisher Sadullaev – the First Vice-President of Uzbekistan Chess Federation and CEO of the Youth Affairs Agency of Uzbekistan – made the ceremonial move on board six, featuring Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Sadullaev was joined by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and Chief Arbiter of the event, Laurent Freyd.
The opening rounds of Swiss System tournaments, especially round one, usually feature a significant number of victories, as the strongest players are pitted against the lower-rated ones. But the Grand Swiss is different: there are no weak opponents and anyone can win – and lose. It is not surprising then that the majority of the games in the Open event ended in draws.
On board one, top-ranked player R Praggnanandhaa drew with Jeffery Xiong in the Exchange line of the French. “Getting Jeffrey [former World Junior Champion] is unlucky, but everyone is strong here, and you don’t really have easy games,” said Praggnanandhaa after the game. The 19-year-old Indian shrugged off suggestions that he felt any pressure as the top-rated player in the tournament.
On board two, Arjun Erigaisi drew with Maksim Chigaev, while rising stars Ediz Gurel and Vincent Keymer split a point in the Ruy Lopez. GM Gabriel Sargissian – a highly successful member of the Armenian chess team – had a winning position against none other than Hans Niemann, but let the advantage slip into a draw.
Among the notable winners in round one are the World Champion Gukesh D who overcame the seasoned French GM Étienne Bacrot on the black side of the Caro-Kann. Anish Giri defeated Armenia’s Robert Hovhannisyan in the Najdorf line of the Sicilian.
The winner of the 2023 Grand Swiss, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, also started with a victory against Alexander Donchenko, following time trouble. Alireza Firouzja managed to score against Bassem Amin after the Egyptian GM made a crucial mistake in an equal endgame late in the round.
Uzbekistan’s biggest hope in this tournament, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, defeated Serbia’s Velimir Ivic. In the Najdorf, Abdusattorov created a passer on the a-file and gradually increased pressure on Black. The opponents traded mistakes in time trouble before the time control, but Velimir was last to err.
The game between the winner of this year’s Women’s World Cup Divya Deshmukh and her Indian compatriot Puranik Abhimanyu brought the first real spark in the tournament.
The Women’s Grand Swiss
The women’s event saw a completely different start, with upsets across the top boards.
On board one, top seed Anna Muzychuk lost on time to 18-year-old Hungarian WGM Zsóka Gaál – despite holding a clearly better position deep into the game.
Former world champions also had a poor start. On board two, Tan lost to Olga Girya. In the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Tan created a strong position, making an advance on the queenside. However, towards the end, she miscalculated, lost a pawn and ultimately conceded her defeat.
Another former world champion, Mariya Muzychuk, also lost – misplaying an endgame as Black against lower-rated Xeniya Balabayeva.
In another upset, IM Polina Shuvalova lost as White to 100 points lower-rated Azerbaijani player Ulviyya Fataliyeva.
There was another surprise earlier in the day when Chinese Woman GM Zhai Mo – the Women’s Chinese Chess Champion in 2018 – was the first to win a full point. She completely outplayed the nearly 100-points-higher-rated Leya Garifullina, forcing her to resign or get checkmated.
On the other hand, the 2023 winner Vaishali Rameshbabu started with a victory, making a good start on her goal to qualify for the Candidates. Among the top boards, Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated Estonia’s Mai Narva with the white pieces. Nurgyul Salimova split a point with Kateryna Lagno on board four.
The full results of Round 1 and Round 2 pairings can be found here:
Women – grandswiss2025.fide.com/grand-swiss-women/
Open – grandswiss2025.fide.com/open/
Round 2 starts at 3 PM local time on Friday, 5th September.
Written by Milan Dinic
Photos: Michal Walusza
Official website: grandswiss2025.fide.com