R Praggnanandhaa wins maiden Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz title in style

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Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has won his maiden title at the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament in a stunning way. He secured the win with a round to spare.

The Indian finished the tournament with 23.5 points, ahead of Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov, who is also one of the contenders for the world championship cycle.

The 20-year-old Indian Grandmaster didn’t lose any games on the final day of the last rapid and blitz in the Grand Chess Tour and jumped to the second spot in the GCT. With this, he has guaranteed a place in the grand finale, which is scheduled later this year.

He just needs to continue riding on his form in the last tournament of the season, which will be played under the Classical system.

After winning the rapid section with a marginal lead against Sindarov, the Tamil Nadu-born chess player lost only one game in the blitz. He then scored the necessary victories to end up with 11.5 points out of a possible 18.

Sindarov, who was trailing Praggnanandhaa by a full point after the rapid section, had to be content with the second spot on 22 points, whereas Wesley So of the United States came third, scoring 20 points overall.

In the GCT rankings, the Indian Grandmaster then jumped to the second spot after his victory. Further, the rankings would depend on how he continues to perform in the last tournament, which is scheduled to start on the weekend.

The withdrawal of Alireza Firouzja of France from the GCT has impacted positively on the lone Indian in the tour. Firoujza cited some scheduling issues ahead of the last two events, and his entire points earned thus far were removed as per the pre-agreement.

Praggnanandhaa will have to watch out in the Classical event that starts on Sunday, and if he ends up in the top three, it will be another great result for the Indian who won the Norway Classic ahead of Magnus Carlsen earlier this year.

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament: Final standings

1. R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 23.5); 2. Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 22);3. Wesley So (Usa, 20.5); 4: Levon Aronian (Usa, 19) 5-7. Fabiano Caruana (USA); Lenier Dominguez Perez (USA), Jorden Van Foreest (Ned) 17 each; 8. Anish Giri (Ned, 15.5); 9. Vincent Keymer (Ger, 14.5) 10. Awonder Leong (Usa, 14).

(With PTI Inputs)

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