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Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won the Grand Chess Tour Finals in St. Louis.
R Praggnanandhaa sealed the championship with a 15-13 overall victory. (PTI Photo)
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu has created history. In a stunning turnaround, the Indian Grandmaster edged past GM Fabiano Caruana to win the final match and secure his maiden Grand Chess Tour Finals title while pocketing USD 200,000 first prize, in St. Louis on Thursday.
With his latest triumph, Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian in history to win the Grand Chess Tour.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I had much of a chance today. A six-point deficit is a lot. You basically need to do what I did,” he said after the win.
“It’s difficult. It’s not every day you can get one win against Fabi, but to get two… that was crucial in the Rapid. Mainly, what changed from last year is my Rapid and Blitz game. It’s much better now, I think, and that’s a massive improvement in this format,” he added.
Having started the day trailing Caruana by six points, Praggnanandhaa wasted no time in turning the momentum in his favour, winning both rapid games to move ahead.
He then held Caruana to draws across the blitz stage to seal the championship with a 15-13 overall victory.
The first blitz game presented Praggnanandhaa with winning chances, but he blundered during a time scramble. His position deteriorated rapidly, yet Caruana was unable to take advantage, and the game eventually ended in a draw.
In the third-place match, GM Wesley So also mounted a comeback against GM Vincent Keymer. After the two players exchanged wins in the rapid segment, So took complete control in blitz, winning all four games to clinch the match with one game still remaining. He finished with an 18-12 victory.
Praggnanandhaa had entered Thursday’s final day after drawing his second classical game against Caruana on Wednesday, leaving the American with a six-point advantage.
The young Indian grandmaster had suffered a 6-0 defeat to Caruana in their opening classical game before fighting back to draw the second game 3-3. (ANI)
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Ask News18Praggnanandhaa stated that his Rapid and Blitz game has improved significantly since last year, which he considers a massive improvement in this format.
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Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience …Read More
August 28, 2026, 07:41 IST
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