Vincent Keymer commented on his performance at the Grand Chess Tour 2026 Finals. Keymer says he has been playing for too long, and analyzes the lost Classical game against Pragg in the Semifinal.

Vincent Keymer

Vincent Keymer

Germany's No. 1

“The motivation is absolutely there. It’s more of a how much energy is left to actually fight. That’s the biggest issue.

Because we’ve been here for a month. And I think you can also tell by the quality of our games. There is a little bit more mistakes happening than usual.

I’d even say that under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn’t have made that Blunder in the game against Pragg. But even under those circumstances, I shouldn’t have made it at all. So that’s not supposed to be an excuse. It’s more of a part of the explanation.

But of course, there’s motivation left. The third place is very important and I think we’re both going to fight.”

The last three events of the Grand Chess Tour take place at the Saint Louis Chess Club in Missouri, USA. Vincent Keymer played in the GCT: Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026 from August 2 to 8 and in the GCT: Sinquefield Cup 2026 from August 10 to 20.

The Grand Chess Tour 2026 Finals takes place from August 22 to 28. Praggnanandhaa R defeated Vincent Keymer with a score of 19-9 in the Semifinal. Vincent Keymer and Wesley So play match for third place from 25 to 28 August.

Credit: Lennart Ootes