R Praggnanandhaa wins his first Grand Chess Tournament; Superbet Chess Classic in Romania
In the Superbet Classic, Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave by 1.5 points in the tiebreaker to win his first Grand Chess Tour title.
New Delhi (India) May 17: R Praggnanandhaa achieved his first Grand Chess Tour victory by winning the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2025. After the title win, he received $77,667 and 10 GCT points.
The Indian was guaranteed a tie for first place after he and Armenian-American Levon Aronianin drew in the last round.
“I didn’t do so well last time. I guess getting to rest a few hours before the tiebreak certainly helps." Praggnanandhaa said at the ceremony.
The current World Chess champion, Gukesh was able to make sixth in the competition. Gukesh received 3.5 GCT points and $17,125, or around Rs. 14, 65, 911.
A three-way tie concluded the main event. After ten rounds, Praggnanandhaa, French Grandmasters Alireza Firouzja, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave all finished with 5.5 points.
Praggnanandhaa had to put in a lot of effort in a comparatively challenging situation against Firouzja in the first game with black pieces, but the outcome was a draw. Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave drew in the second game.
Praggnanandhaa pushed through Vachier-Lagrave's tricks to win the tournament's top prize in the final game. He scored half a point more than Firouzja and one more than the other French Grandmaster, the Indian player scored 1.5 points in his blitz games.
He holds his position at No. 7 in the global rankings after earning nine rating points for his victory.
The 2025 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia is the next Grand Chess Tour event and it is going to take place from July 1–6,2025.
Aadrika Tayal
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