GM Parham Maghsoodloo called GM Alireza Firouzja‘s bluff to take the sole lead in the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss, after co-leader GM Anton Demchenko eventually succumbed to GM Arjun Erigaisi‘s pressure. Another late winner was GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, who took advantage of GM Boris Gelfand‘s fighting spirit, and was joined on 2.5/3 by GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Abhimanyu Mishra, and 23-year-old Pole Szymon Gumularz. 14-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus missed a win over GM Vincent Keymer by the smallest of margins.
We also have a sole leader in the 2025 FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss, as GM Vaishali Rameshbabu got into deep time trouble but pounced on a blunder by IM Olga Badelka to move to 3/3. GM Kateryna Lagno and IMs Song Yuxin and Dinara Wagner are half a point behind, while former Women’s World Champions GMs Tan Zhongyi and Mariya Muzychuk have now posted two wins in a row after losing in round one.
This is a flash report—come back later for full player quotes and analysis!
Round four is on Sunday, September 7, starting at 6 a.m. ET / 12:00 CEST / 3:30 p.m. IST.
Standings
Just three rounds into the Grand Swiss in Samarkand we have a sole leader in both the Open and Women’s tournaments.
FIDE Grand Swiss Standings After Round 3
FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Standings After Round 3
Open
More than half the top-10 games were decisive, and it could have been more, after GMs Frederik Svane and Erdogmus both let winning positions slip.
Round 3 Results: Open
Check out the full games and results.
Our Game of the Day is Arjun’s battling win over Demchenko, which GM Rafael Leitao will analyze below.
Women
Just as in the Open section, six of the top-10 boards saw decisive results in the Women’s section.
Round 3 Results: Women
Check out the full games and results.
This is a flash report—come back later for full player quotes and analysis!
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.
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