The Grand Chess Tour is back in Zagreb from June 29 to July 6 2026. This is the third stop of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour season, known as Super Rapid and Blitz Croatia.
Ten grandmasters will play 27 games each, across nine rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz, competing for the prize of $200,000.
The format is simple. If you win a rapid game, you get 2 points. If you win a blitz game, you get 1 point. So the player who does well in the rapid phase has a good chance of winning. The Grand Chess Tour has been coming to Zagreb for years. Magnus Carlsen used to do well here, as he won it for three consecutive years, i.e. 2022, 2023, and 2025.
But as he is not playing this year, anyone else can take the title home.
The tournament this year consists of six full-tour players and four wildcards. Let’s see who makes the most points in The Westin Zagreb.
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Top 5 Players To Watch in Super Rapid and Blitz Croatia
Here are the five players who could decide this tournament.
1. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (India)
If one player is coming into Zagreb with his best form of 2026, it is R Praggnanandhaa.
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The 20-year-old Indian has won two of the biggest tournaments of the year already. He won the Super Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest in May and then went straight to Norway Chess and won that too, finishing with four consecutive classical wins.
Although the classical events have longer time controls, the rapid and blitz events in Croatia are where everything moves faster. Praggnanandhaa’s record in speed formats has been mixed. In the 2025 Zagreb event, he finished 9th out of 10 players, scoring just 15 combined points. But he has clearly improved in 2026.
2. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) [Wildcard]
Nodirbek Abdusattorov is 21 years old, from Uzbekistan, and is one of the best speed chess players in the world right now.
He already holds the title of World Rapid Chess Champion at the age of 17, becoming the youngest ever to do so.
In January 2026, he won the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, finishing with 9 points from 13 rounds and a performance rating of 2862.
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He comes into Zagreb as a wildcard, which means his result here doesn’t count towards the overall GCT season standings. But prize money is still on the table, and more importantly, the result matters for his reputation and momentum heading into the rest of the year.
3. Alireza Firouzja (France)
Alireza Firouzja is 22 years old and has been one of the most talked-about players in chess for the last five years. He plays for France but was born in Iran, and became a grandmaster at 14. He is also the youngest player to ever reach a FIDE rating of 2800.
In rapid and blitz specifically, he is one of the most naturally gifted players in the world. His rapid rating of 2755 puts him at world number two in that format. His blitz rating of 2796 makes him world number four. He won the Grand Chess Tour twice in 2022 and 2024, which means he knows exactly how to win these combined rapid-and-blitz events.
His 2026 season has been a little uneven. He had a medical issue during the Romania Classical in May that disrupted his preparation and rhythm. At the GCT Poland rapid and blitz event, his rapid section was disappointing, though his blitz was more solid. He finished third at Norway Chess, behind Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So.
4. Gukesh Dommaraju (India) [Wildcard]
D Gukesh is the reigning World Chess Champion. He has recently turned 20 and is going through a difficult period.
After winning the World Championship against Ding Liren in December 2024, Gukesh has struggled to find consistent form throughout 2025. He finished 41st at the FIDE Grand Swiss, lost in the third round of the World Cup, and had poor results at several super-tournaments. By early 2026, things hadn’t improved much; he finished 10th at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament and joint-last at the Prague Masters.
In March 2026, he made the honest call to step back. He pulled out of the full Grand Chess Tour lineup, saying his “performance in the last few events has been quite disappointing” and that he needed more training time rather than more tournaments.
He’s playing only two events this year as a wildcard: Poland and Croatia.
5. Vincent Keymer (Germany)
Vincent Keymer might be the most underrated player on this list. The 21-year-old German grandmaster has had an exceptional year so far. He won the Super Chess Classic Romania in May, which was one of the strongest fields of the season.
He also nearly won the Tata Steel Tournament in January, where he was in contention until the final round. He is currently ranked world number four in classical chess.
His accuracy in speed formats is also real. He finished second at the 2022 World Rapid Championship.
The Croatia stop is the first rapid and blitz event Vincent Keymer has played on the Grand Chess Tour. His classical win in Romania must have given him much more confidence.
Also Read: FIDE Super Rapid and Blitz Croatia 2026: Schedule, Format And Prize Money
