Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa Tops Elite Field to Claim First Rapid & Blitz Title at 2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 7, 2026--

Grandmaster (GM) Praggnanandhaa won his first Rapid & Blitz title at the 2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club as the first U.S. leg of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT). The Indian grandmaster built his victory by topping the rapid section with 12 of a possible 18 points before sealing the overall title in the blitz, winning $50,000. His rapid performance also lifted him into the live top 10 of the world rapid rankings for the first time in his career.

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"I was just trying to stay calm and play. I wanted to win the Rapid and Blitz separately, which I think I managed, so that's good," said Praggnanandhaa. "Last year, the Rapid & Blitz put me in a situation where I had to perform in the Sinquefield Cup, but this time the Rapid & Blitz has helped me go into the 2026 Sinquefield Cup with a good score, so I'm happy that I managed to improve in that area."

Finishing second was Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov, who held the runner-up spot throughout the tournament to earn $40,000 in prize money. American grandmaster Wesley So placed third, earning $30,000.

"Congratulations to Praggnanandhaa on an outstanding performance throughout the week," said Yasser Seirawan, chief commentator and spokesperson for the Saint Louis Chess Club. "He set the pace in the rapid section and continued to play with remarkable consistency in the blitz against one of the strongest fields in the world. Winning the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz is a significant achievement, and we look forward to seeing him carry this momentum into the Sinquefield Cup next week."

2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Results

Current 2026 Grand Chess Tour Leaderboard

The 2026 GCT Finals is beginning to take shape. GM Fabiano Caruana currently holds the top spot, followed by GM Praggnanandhaa, GM Wesley So and GM Vincent Keymer.

The last regular season stop and signature event of the GCT circuit, the 2026 Sinquefield Cup running Aug. 10-19, 2026 will continue its traditional classical format. Hosted annually by the Saint Louis Chess Club with a $475,000 total prize fund, the strongest tournament on American soil will be the final opportunity for competitors to earn points in the 2026 GCT, aiming to finish in the top four to qualify for the GCT Finals. The tournament will feature wildcard GM Levon Aronian from the United States, as well as GM Sam Sevian from the United States who replaced GM Alireza Firouzja who withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup late last month.

The tour will come to a dramatic conclusion during the 2026 GCT Finals, set for Aug. 22-27, 2026. The top four full-tour players will battle for a $450,000 prize fund in an intense knockout competition featuring two Classical games, two Rapid games and four Blitz games. With the 2026 GCT title on the line, only one player will emerge as champion.

Follow all the chess action in Saint Louis by watching the professional commentary team including GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashley, GM Cristian Chirila and GM Peter Svidler on the STLCC’s Youtube and Twitch channels.

This year’s GCT participants are competing for a prize purse of $2 million over the course of the full tour. The prize fund is provided by the 2026 Grand Chess Tour major sponsors Super Foundation and Saint Louis Chess Club, both non-profit organizations that support chess education and the mission to expand the game of chess to a worldwide audience.

For more information about the Grand Chess Tour, visit grandchesstour.org.

Grand Chess Tour

The Grand Chess Tour (GCT) is a circuit of international events, each demonstrating the highest level of organization for the world's best players. The legendary Garry Kasparov, one of the world's greatest ambassadors for chess, inspired the GCT and helped solidify the partnership between the organizers. For more information about the tour, please visit grandchesstour.org.

Super Foundation

The Super Foundation, a non-profit organization, is responsible for coordinating the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of Super Technologies. Their goal is to support the advancement of health, education, and sports initiatives, with a special emphasis on promoting the game of chess and its myriad benefits within all the communities they serve.

Saint Louis Chess Club

The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to making chess a vital part of the community and advancing Saint Louis’s reputation as the nation’s premier chess destination—the U.S. Chess Capital. In addition to hosting world-class tournaments and providing a welcoming space for casual and competitive play, the Club offers a robust slate of educational programming, including beginner lessons, chess improvement classes, lectures, and special events for players of all ages and skill levels.

Recognizing the cognitive, academic, and social benefits of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is deeply committed to scholastic education. The Club supports existing chess programs in area schools while actively developing new in-school and after-school initiatives that introduce students to the game and help young players thrive both on and off the board. For more information, visit www.saintlouischessclub.org.

Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa celebrates after winning the 2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz at the Saint Louis Chess Club in St Louis, Missouri.

Police released video Friday of a mass shooting that killed three people at an Idaho In-N-Out Burger, and heaped praise on a bystander who engaged the gunman on a trail, slowing him down and possibly preventing more deaths as authorities were catching up.

The video revealed more details of a chaotic scene in Twin Falls last weekend. The gunman walked up to the drive-thru window four times and opened fire, killing an In-N-Out employee, police said.

A total of 10 people were shot — inside the restaurant, directly outside, on an adjacent busy road and at a nearby visitors center lot, Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said.

Hicks said at a news conference that investigators still don’t have a motive for the shooting. The gunman, Chad Williams, 24, killed himself.

“What happened here was violent, frightening and deeply traumatic,” Hicks said.

It should have been a “normal Saturday afternoon,” he said. “Employees showing up for work. Visitors coming to see our beautiful city. Instead they were confronted with chaos, fear and now loss.”

As the shooting unfolded, employees from nearby stores fled to a walking trail. When the gunman headed to the trail, he came across two people, including one with his hands in the air talking to him, according to the video.

He distracted the gunman from possibly pursuing others on the trail. Williams subsequently killed himself as police closed in. His body was found near a canyon.

“To that young man, you are a hero,” Hicks said. “Your courage, your composure, your selflessness in that moment likely gave others the time they needed to escape harm. This community is grateful for you, and we will never forget what you did that day.”

Hicks also praised the work of an off-duty state trooper, who shot at Williams from inside the restaurant, and former police officer A.J. James, who was wounded while confronting Williams. Authorities previously credited an armed civilian who fired back and diverted Williams from the restaurant.

James ran toward the sound of gunfire from the drive-thru window and was shot and wounded, while the off-duty officer inside the In-N-Out exchanged gunfire with Williams through the window and directed workers out of the building, Hicks said.

He acted “heroically and unbelievably” to try to slow down the shooter, the police chief said, declining to release the off-duty officer's name.

Braxton Steube said he was the person who encountered Williams on the trail after fleeing a Dick's Sporting Good store.

“I said, ‘I have a family.’ I said, ‘You don’t have to do this. I’ll tell you whatever you want. I’ll do anything,'” Steube told KMVT-TV. “He started to like tear up a bit, it seemed. And he said to me, ‘Just get away from me, man.’”

Steube said the gunman shot at him and missed.

The Twin Falls In-N-Out, 130 miles (210 kilometers) southeast of Boise, the state capital, had opened in July as part of the chain’s expansion into Idaho.

Police identified those killed as Ashley Garibay, 23, of Stockton, California; Dale Schultz, 66, of Salt Lake City; and Christopher Claunch, 59, of Hagerman, Idaho.

Williams had briefly attended the College of Southern Idaho and previously lived in Arizona.

This image taken from video provided by the Twin Falls Police Department shows Chad Williams holding a gun and approaching a car in an In-N-Out drive-thru Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Twin Falls, Idaho (Twin Falls Police Department via AP)

A woman prays during a candlelight vigil Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Twin Falls, Idaho, to honor the victims of a recent shooting at a local In-N-Out Burger. (AP Photo/Andrew Eakin)