2026 Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia brings elite Grand Chess Tour speed chess to Zagreb, Croatia, from June 29 to July 6, 2026. The tournament takes place at The Westin Zagreb and marks the third stop of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour.
The event features 10 grandmasters in a combined rapid and blitz format. First, the players compete in a 9-round rapid round robin. Then, they continue with two 9-round blitz round robins. Therefore, every player faces the full field several times across the two faster time controls.
The Croatia stop also carries a USD 200,000 prize fund and includes a world-class player list. In addition, fans can follow the games online through the Saint Louis Chess Club YouTube and Twitch channels with commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Cristian Chirila, and IM Nazi Paikidze.
🏁 Event Details
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| 📅 Dates | June 29 – July 6, 2026 |
| 📍 Location | Zagreb, Croatia |
| 🏨 Venue | The Westin Zagreb, Krsnjavoga 1, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia |
| 🏆 Tour | Grand Chess Tour 2026 |
| 🎯 Tour stop | Third stop of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour |
| ♟️ Format | 10-player rapid and blitz invitational |
| ⚡ Rapid format | 9-round rapid round robin |
| 🔥 Blitz format | Two 9-round blitz round robins |
| 🧮 Scoring | Rapid games count 2 points per game; blitz games count 1 point per game |
| 👥 Field | 10 grandmasters |
| 💰 Prize fund | USD 200,000 |
| 📺 Broadcast | Saint Louis Chess Club YouTube and Twitch channels |
| 🎙️ Commentary | GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Cristian Chirila, and IM Nazi Paikidze |
| ✅ FIDE calendar | SuperUnited Rapid Croatia and SuperUnited Blitz Croatia |
⏱️ Time Control & Pairings
The tournament uses the Grand Chess Tour rapid-and-blitz structure. The rapid part has 9 rounds, and the blitz part has 18 rounds split into two complete round robins. As a result, the final standings reward consistency across both formats.
Rapid games carry more weight in the score table. Each rapid game counts 2 points, while each blitz game counts 1 point. After all rapid and blitz games finish, the player with the best combined score wins the event.
The event page lists the format and scoring system, but it does not list the exact clock settings yet. Therefore, the page should not show unconfirmed rapid or blitz time controls.
💰 Prize Fund
The tournament offers a total confirmed prize fund of USD 200,000. The place-by-place prize breakdown has not been published yet for this event.
♟️ Sections / Groups
| Phase | Details |
|---|---|
| Rapid | 9-round rapid round robin with all 10 players |
| Blitz 1 | First 9-round blitz round robin |
| Blitz 2 | Second 9-round blitz round robin |
| Overall standings | Best combined rapid and blitz score wins |
The event is an elite invitational tournament. Therefore, it does not include public open sections, rating groups, or registration categories.
Player Field
| Player | Status |
|---|---|
| GM Vincent Keymer | Full-tour player |
| GM Alireza Firouzja | Full-tour player |
| GM Anish Giri | Full-tour player |
| GM Levon Aronian | Full-tour player |
| GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Full-tour player |
| GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Full-tour player |
| GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Wildcard |
| GM Ivan Šarić | Wildcard |
| GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac | Wildcard |
| GM Gukesh Dommaraju | Wildcard |
📅 Schedule
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| June 29 – July 6, 2026 | 2026 Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia event window |
| During the event window | 9-round rapid round robin |
| During the event window | Two 9-round blitz round robins |
| July 6, 2026 | Final day of the Croatia stop |
The detailed daily round schedule and start times are not published yet. They should be added only after the Grand Chess Tour updates the event schedule.
📝 Registration
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Event type | Invitational Grand Chess Tour tournament |
| Public player registration | Not available |
| Field size | 10 players |
| Player selection | Full-tour players and wildcards |
| Spectator details | Not published yet |
This is not an open tournament for public entry. Instead, the Grand Chess Tour selects the field through full-tour invitations and wildcard places.
👤 Organizer
The Grand Chess Tour organizes the event as part of its 2026 international circuit. The tour brings elite players together across rapid, blitz, classical, and finals events in Europe and the United States.
📍 Venue
The Westin Zagreb, Krsnjavoga 1, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
The venue is centrally located in Zagreb and offers hotel, meeting, dining, wellness, and parking facilities in one place. In addition, Zagreb Airport is about 16 km from the property, which makes the venue practical for international visitors.
🚗 How to Get There
The Westin Zagreb is located at Krsnjavoga 1 in central Zagreb. Visitors can reach the hotel by taxi or airport transfer from Zagreb Airport, while the city’s main bus and railway stations also provide practical arrival options for local and regional travel.
ℹ️ Other
The 2026 Grand Chess Tour includes six stops: Super Rapid & Blitz Poland, Super Chess Classic Romania, Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia, Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, Sinquefield Cup, and the GCT Finals. Moreover, the full 2026 tour carries a combined prize fund of USD 2,000,000.
This Zagreb event combines elite rapid-and-blitz chess, a major prize fund, and a central Grand Chess Tour stage in Croatia.
Additional Details
Prize Fund (approx.) - $2,000,000
Organizer
Grand Chess Tour is a global elite chess circuit based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It launched in 2015 and grew out of a partnership between the organizers of Norway Chess, the Sinquefield Cup, and the London Chess Classic. Garry Kasparov helped inspire the project and bring that partnership together. For top players, the Tour matters because it created one coordinated championship path instead of a loose group of separate supertournaments. It began as a three-event classical circuit. Since then, it has expanded into a broader international series that aims to deliver strong playing conditions, consistent standards, and high visibility for the world’s best grandmasters.
🏆 Tournament Circuit
The Tour is known for its season-long format and its mix of classical, rapid, and blitz events. Over the years, its calendar has featured the Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, Super Rapid & Blitz Poland, Super Chess Classic Romania, and Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia. The first edition used three classical events with matching conditions. Later editions added faster formats and a wider international footprint. In 2026, the Tour entered its second decade with six events, including the GCT Finals, and a total prize fund of $2 million. That structure gives elite players a real title race across several cities and time controls instead of a single standalone event.
🌱 Global Reach
The Grand Chess Tour also plays a major role in how elite chess reaches fans. Its official model emphasizes live audiences, streaming broadcasts, grandmaster commentary, and international media coverage. Over time, Tour events have been held in Norway, France, Belgium, the United States, the United Kingdom, Côte d’Ivoire, India, Romania, Poland, and Croatia. More recently, the Finals reached São Paulo before returning to Saint Louis for 2026. For fans, that reach matters because the Tour does more than crown winners. It packages top-level chess as a polished global series for both in-person spectators and online viewers. Michael Khodarkovsky, the current Executive Director, is the clearest public-facing leader behind the Tour’s present direction.
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