R. Praggnanandhaa won the Grand Chess Tour title by defeating American veteran Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the final in St. Louis. He became the first Indian player to win this prestigious competition.
Praggnanand’s comeback after falling behind by six points
On the last day of the final, Caruana had taken a lead of six points against Praggnanand. The Indian Grandmaster strengthened his position by winning both the rapid events and returned to the competition.
After the rapid phase, Praggnanandha maintained his lead in the blitz events as well. The blitz competition between the two players ended in a draw. Praggnanand won the title when the total score was 15-13.
Caruana’s lead at the start of the final
In the first classical game of the final, Caruana registered a big victory of 6-0. After this the second classical game ended in a draw. Following this result, Caruana had a six-point lead against Praggnanandhaa before the rapid and blitz phases began.
Praggnanand made a comeback with consecutive wins in the rapid events on the last day.
The first blitz game was a draw
In the first blitz competition, Praggnanandha looked close to victory, but made a mistake due to lack of time. After this Caruana got a chance to make a comeback. However, the American players could not take full advantage of this opportunity and the match ended in a draw.
After this, Praggnanand kept his position strong and finally won the trophy by defeating Caruana in total score.
Grand Chess Tour titles are one of the notable achievements of Praggnanandha’s career. He has been challenging the top players of world chess for a long time. With this success, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Chess Tour. His victory in the tournament is also being linked to the prize money of around Rs 2 crore.
Even before this he had performed in the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz competitions. Consistent good results have further strengthened their position at the international level.
Wesley So in third place
In the third place match in St. Louis, Wesley So defeated Vincent Keimer of Germany by an aggregate score of 18–12. Both the players won one match each in the rapid phase, after which the match reached a tie.
In the blitz stage, Wesley So won four consecutive blitz events to take third place.