India No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi overlooked again for Grand Chess Tour as Gukesh-Pragg lead the Indian charge in 2026

The Saint Louis Chess Club announced on Tuesday the lineup of full-tour participants for the 2026 Grand Chess Tour (GCT) season. The nine-player roster features two Indians, D. Gukesh and R. Praggnanandhaa, for a third consecutive year. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi, the highest-rated Indian across all formats, once again did not receive an invitation.
This marks the third straight year that reigning World Champion Gukesh and former World Cup final Praggnanandhaa have been invited as full-tour participants, while Arjun has been overlooked.
Arjun missing out on invitations to super-elite events is not a new phenomenon. It is a widely discussed topic, and his former coach, N. Srinath, has often addressed Arjun’s exclusion.
ALSO READ | How lack of invitations in elite events is holding back Arjun Erigaisi, India’s top-ranked player in all formats
“Yes, he played Tata Steel and Norway Chess (in 2025)… two top-tier closed events this year, but compared to his peers, he competed in fewer tournaments than players at his level typically do across the year,” Srinath had told The Indian Express earlier this year.
According to him, Arjun hasn’t had as many opportunities to face the absolute elite, the 2750+ Elo group, as he deserves. “That exposure plays a crucial role in a player’s development at this level. Someone who started the year as a 2800-rated player, he only took part in two elite events, with the Grand Chess Tour being the most notable exclusion last year,” he added.

The full field of nine full-tour 2026 #GrandChessTour players has been revealed, featuring reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju and reigning GCT Champion Fabiano Caruana!With a $2 million prize fund, the world’s best will compete across the tour, with the season culminating… pic.twitter.com/NCQCkqzZyD
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) January 27, 2026
Arjun is currently playing at the prestigious Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee, but he was not invited to the Prague Masters either. The other premier event on the calendar, Norway Chess, has yet to announce whether Arjun has received an invitation. The Prague Masters have extended invitations to Gukesh and Aravindh Chithambaram, while Norway Chess has named Praggnanandhaa in its lineup. There is still hope for Arjun to play in the Norway event, as the organisers have not announced their full roster.
What is the GCT?
One of the most prestigious tours in the chess cycle, the GCT is a year-long series of tournaments across Classical, Rapid, and Blitz formats, culminating in a tour final.Story continues below this ad
The 2026 season will begin with a Rapid and Blitz event in Poland from May 3–10. This will be followed a Classical event in Romania, another Rapid & Blitz tournament in Croatia and Saint Louis, and finally, the annual fixture, the Sinquefield Cup.
All five events will also feature a few invitees, the Wildcards, but the nine full-tour participants will play in the majority of the tournaments. According to the GCT, “full tour participants will compete in both classical tournaments and two of the three rapid & blitz events. Wildcard players for all events will be announced at a later date.”
GCT 2026 Tour Schedule

Super Rapid & Blitz Poland: May 3-10, 2026
Super Chess Classic Romania: May 12-24, 2026
Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia: Jun. 29-Jul. 6, 2026
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz: Jul. 31-Aug. 7, 2026
Sinquefield Cup: Aug. 8-21, 2026
GCT Finals: Aug. 21-28, 2026

GCT 2026 Full Tour Participants

PLAYER
HIGHLIGHTS
COUNTRY
RATING

D Gukesh
Reigning World Champion
IND
2754

Fabiano Caruana
World No. 3, 2026 Candidates Qualifier; 2023 and 2025 GCT Champion, Reigning Five-time US Champion
USA
2795

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
2025 GCT 2nd Place, 2024 GCT 3rd Place
FRA
2734

Levon Aronian
2025 GCT 3rd Place; 2025 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Champion, 2024 American Cup Winner; Two-time World Cup Champion
USA
2729

R Praggnanandha
2026 Candidates Qualifier; 2025 Superbet Chess Classic Romania Champion, 2025 Tata Steel Champion
IND
2758

Vincent Keymer
Ranked No. 4; 2025 Chennai Grand Masters Winner
GER
2776

Anish Giri
2026 Candidates Qualifier; 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss Champion
NED
2760

Alireza Firouzja
2022 and 2024 GCT Champion
FRA
2759

Wesley So
2025 Sinquefield Cup Winner, 2022 GCT 2nd Place, 2021 GCT Winner
USA
2753