He came third, picked up $62,000 in prize money, but didn't turn up for the closing ceremony. Is it because he missed out on a place in Candidates? Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

The FIDE Grand Swiss ended this week with a bang—literally as indoor fireworks went off inside the venue during the closing ceremony.

GM Anish Giri was crowned winner of the Open and secured a place at the Candidates tournament with GM Matthias Bluebaum. Giri, the Dutch number-one, and Bluebaum stood up on the podium and were congratulated on their performances.

Now that's done and dusted, the FIDE jamboree rumbles on to the World Cup in November, when three more of those all-important Candidates places will be decided.

But at the Grand Swiss prizegiving in Samarkand we noticed something missing: the third-placed finisher.

The empty space

GM Alireza Firouzja had a brilliant tournament playing near-perfect chess with a stellar performance rating of 2808.

Firouzja and Bluebaum played out a draw in the final round. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

But a final round draw with Bluebaum left him an agonizing third on the leaderboard.

And, that meant he missed out on a Candidates place. For those who don't know, the Candidates is the final eliminator before the world championship match. Getting to the Candidates is vital.

Yet again, the hotshot once tipped by GM Magnus Carlsen to be his successor is in danger of missing out on a shot at the world title.

A prize of $62,000 sounds great, but it wasn't going to make up for that.

Why the no show?

Perhaps Firouzja was still feeling sore and that was the reason he didn't turn up to the ceremony where he was meant to collect his medal? Top players often do duck out, and Firouzja wouldn't be the first to have swerved a prizegiving. Carlsen has certainly been guilty before.

So far, no indication has been given yet as to why Firouzja wasn't there. Usually, Firouzja's family speak for him but we've heard nothing yet.

In contrast, the top three finishers in the Women's tournament, GMs Vaishali Rameshbabu, Kateryna Lagno, and Bibisara Assaubayeva, were on the podium.

The top three finishers in the Women's tournament all turned up. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Everyone in chess wants to see Firouzja fulfil his potential. He's such an exciting player.

Way back in 2021, before he abdicated his title, Carlsen said he only wanted to defend his title against the youngster. Firouzja was the heir apparent hailed as the greatest talent of his generation.

However, two of the remaining five Candidates spots are all-but sewn up. GM Hikaru Nakamura is looking a dead cert to take the place based on ratings.

Meanwhile, GM Praggnanandhaa R is dominating the FIDE Circuit and is odds-on to take the golden ticket that comes with winning that.

It means Firouzja, the 22-year-old adopted Frenchman, now has just the World Cup left to book his date with destiny.

Can he do it? Good luck Alireza.