Anish Giri set a new Grand Chess Tour record on day 4 of the GCT Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026. GCT organizers confirmed that Giri played the highest number of consecutive draws in tour history, 12 times.

Anish Giri drew all 9 games in the Rapid part and the first 3 games of the Blitz part. In the 4th Blitz game, Levon Aronian defeated Giri with Rook and Bishop sacrifices.

This is the second ‘draw achievement’ for Anish. At the 2016 FIDE Candidates Tournament, Giri drew all 14 games of the event. His performance turned into a long-running meme in the chess community. To this day, Anish Giri remains the only player to draw all games at a Candidates tournament.

The GCT Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026 takes place from August 2 to 6, at the Saint Louis Chess Club in Missouri, USA. The Blitz part features a 5+2 time control over double Round-Robin between 10 players. The tournament prize fund is $200,000 with $50,000 for first place.

Credit: Lennart Ootes