Interesting endgames from the Grand Chess Tour: Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia 2026

Hi! I've been focusing on endgames lately and thought it would be interesting to look over some of the games from the GCT. This study contains a series of interesting practical positions, with a loose focus on rooks, although I'm being a little bit liberal with the definition of a rook endgame.

The positions also aren't strict puzzles; there isn't one definite move, and the side to move isn't necessarily winning. I think this kind of material is worth sparring over to get a feel for and to question your initial assumptions about the position, so do have a look at it and consider some moves before clicking through to the continuation.

The full study has more games and I will update with tomorrow's games, too. But below are some highlights:

Round 1: Vachier-Lagrave vs Gukesh

Black to move. White is up a piece, but after ...qxa4, Black does have three passed pawns. Is it enough compensation? And what will happen with the stand off between the double queen batteries? A lot of dynamic things to get your head around. And I do adore one of White's moves which was played.

Round 2: Giri vs Abdusattorov

White to move. My gut told me that Black's position has the edge, and it would hinge on the activity of Black's bishop and Black's connected pawns. How to deal with White's a2 and c3 pawns? But it plays out quite differently, and I thought the transition from this position to the end was very elegant, and required a lot of foresight about pawn and bishop endgames. And being able to see that from this position was somewhat extraordinary.

Round 4: Giri vs Saric

White to move. Black has two connected passers – but it's White's turn, their passer is promising and their king is safer. Should White attempt to check the king? Push its own passer? Or do something to halt Black's march? A lot of dynamic questions that need to be unraveled.

Round 5: Van Foreest vs Gukesh

White to move. What's your eval of the position? Again, even material but huge difference in activity, particularly with king safety. How it plays out OTB reflects a lot of subtleties that shape the outcome: all hinging on drawing mechanisms and the race of the pawns.