French GM Alireza Firouzja did not show up for his game against American GM Fabiano Caruana in round 4 of the GCT Super Chess Classic Romania 2026. Organizers of the Grand Chess Tour published an explanation and cited a medical issue as the reason.

Grand Chess Tour

Grand Chess Tour

Tournament Organizers

“Due to a medical issue, Alireza Firouzja will not be able to play today’s game against Fabiano Caruana. We are hopeful that he will be able to continue in the event.

A further update will be provided after today’s round.”

The standings will change if Alireza Firouzja is unable to continue playing. The results of Firouzja’s games against Praggnanandhaa R, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Anish Giri will not count in the final standings. Alireza’s played games will count for his FIDE rating calculation. Changes will apply according to FIDE rule on withdrawal from a tournament without playing 50% of games (6.6, paragraph 2).

The GCT Super Chess Classic Romania 2026 takes place from May 14 to 23, at the National Bank of Romania, Bucharest. French GM Alireza Firouzja is in last place in the standings after 3 rounds.

Credit: Lennart Ootes