R Praggnanandhaa Claims Victory at Grand Chess Tour: A Historic Win!

Praggnanandhaa Triumphs in Bucharest

Bucharest (Romania): Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has made headlines by defeating France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, marking his inaugural tournament victory on the Grand Chess Tour at the Superbet Classic in Romania.

After a draw with Armenian-American GM Levon Aronian in the final round, Praggnanandhaa secured a tie for the top position.

Both Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja also finished with 5.5 points, prompting a tiebreaker among the three competitors, which consisted of five-minute games with a two-second increment per move.

In the initial game, Praggnanandhaa faced a challenging position against Firouzja but managed to draw. The second game ended in a draw between Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave.

In the decisive final game, Praggnanandhaa broke through Vachier-Lagrave's defenses, clinching the top prize. He earned 1.5 points in the blitz games, surpassing Firouzja by half a point and Vachier-Lagrave by one point.

This victory is particularly sweet for Praggnanandhaa, who faced disappointment last year when he lost all his playoff matches.

Reflecting on his performance, Praggnanandhaa remarked, 'I didn’t do so well last time. I guess getting to rest a few hours before the tiebreak certainly helps.'

Following his early draw with Aronian, he took some time to rest before the tiebreak.

He expressed gratitude to his second for the tournament, GM Vaibhav Suri, and his permanent coach, Grandmaster RB Ramesh. For his remarkable achievement, Praggnanandhaa received a cash prize of USD 77,667 (approximately Rs 66 lakh).

Results (Round 9): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 4) lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 5.5) defeated Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 3); Wesley So (4) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 4) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5).

Tiebreak results: Praggnanandhaa drew with Firouzja; Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Praggnanandhaa defeated Vachier-Lagrave.