Overview

• Reigning world champion D. Gukesh defeated Etienne Bacrot with Black in Round 1, while top seed R. Praggnanandhaa drew Jeffery Xiong.
• Defending champion Vidit Gujrathi beat Alexander Donchenko, P. Harikrishna lost to Anton Demchenko, and Nihal Sarin drew Rasmus Svane.
• Nodirbek Abdusattorov said “Gukesh will lose his title in the next match,” and Gukesh replied that Abdusattorov must first qualify for the Candidates.
• The Grand Swiss features 116 players in the Open and 56 in the Women’s field, with two 2026 Candidates spots available in each and a combined prize pool of $855,000.
• India has 15 entrants in the Open and three in the Women’s event, with Divya Deshmukh choosing to play the Open and drawing compatriot Abhimanyu Puranik in Round 1.