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Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa continued his rise in elite chess circles by securing a place in the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) finale after finishing second at the prestigious Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis. The 19-year-old’s strong showing saw him tie for first place in the classical section alongside American duo Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana, all finishing with 5.5 points from nine rounds.
The tournament, however, concluded with a dramatic three-way playoff to determine the winner. Wesley So emerged victorious, defeating Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the final round to force a tie at the top, before clinching the title in the tiebreaker. So secured 1.5 points in the rapid playoff round, defeating Praggnanandhaa and drawing with Caruana to take home the crown.
Praggnanandhaa, who had earlier played out a solid draw with Levon Aronian in the ninth and final classical round, opened his tiebreak campaign with an impressive victory over Caruana. That win briefly raised hopes of an Indian triumph, but the youngster fell to So in the following game, finishing second with one point in the playoff. Caruana managed only a draw in his two tiebreak games, settling for third place.
Despite narrowly missing the title, Praggnanandhaa’s performance was more than enough to earn him qualification for the GCT finale, joining So, Caruana, Levon Aronian, and top scorer Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the season-ending event.
In the classical format standings, Aronian finished fourth with five points, while Vachier-Lagrave, Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland, and American Samuel Sevian shared fifth place with 4.5 points each. World Champion D Gukesh, who had an underwhelming tournament, ended with four points, while Alireza Firouzja of France and Abdusattorov brought up the rear with 3.5 and 2.5 points respectively.
Earlier in the final round, Praggnanandhaa ensured his place in the playoff with a straightforward draw against Aronian, who opted for a quiet approach in the Four Knights Opening. A series of early exchanges led to a balanced bishop endgame that concluded peacefully.
Gukesh also split points with Caruana in a quiet Italian Opening that fizzled out into a theoretically drawn rook endgame.
With the Sinquefield Cup wrapped up, the attention now turns to Uzbekistan, where the Grand Swiss begins on September 3. The highly anticipated event will feature a world-class field, with two spots in the Candidates Tournament up for grabs. Praggnanandhaa remains the only Indian to have already qualified for the Candidates, where he will vie for a chance to challenge Gukesh in the next World Championship match.
(With PTI inputs)
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