Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa scripted history and became the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour after beating the defending champion Fabiano Caruana in an epic battle.
It wasn’t a straightforward win for Praggnanandhaa and needed a remarkable comeback from the 21-year-old to stun Caruana. Praggnanandhaa headed to the final day with a six-point deficit, trailing 3-9 after the classical leg, having lost the opening game and drawn the second. But he made a remarkable turnaround in the Rapid led, winning both games and earning eight points to take a 11-9 lead into the final Blitz leg.
The first Blitz game saw many nervy moments for Praggnanandhaa, but the defending champion failed to capitalise, and the game ended in a draw, however, Caruana bounced back to win the second Blitz game to make in 12-12.
then beat Caruana with three white pieces for the third time in the day to take a 14-12 lead in the final game, which ended in a draw after Praggnanandhaa forced threefold repetition in a completely winning position, and the Indian stalwart emerged victorious.
Across six games against Caruana, he managed to win three, drew two, and lost just one. Following the win, he admitted that he was not too hopeful of winning the title.
“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,” said Praggnanandhaa after his historic title win. “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.”
Praggnanandhaa’s Dream Run
Praggnanandhaa had a cold run in the second Candidates tournament in Cyprus, which could have set up an all-Indian world championship clash with Gukesh, however, that was not the case. But he turned things around and won the Norway Chess title, defeating Magnus Carlsen twice. He then won in Saint Louis and performed strongly at the Sinquefield Cup, where he finished second.
On his incredible run, he said, “Yeah, it would have been nice to win the Candidates.
“But winning a tournament like this is still a great achievement. You have to show a lot of character to come out on top in such an event, and I’m happy that I managed to do that and fight till the very end,” he added.
For Praggnanandhaa, the Grand Chess Tour is only second to the world championship. “Winning this is certainly second only to the World Championship, given the tradition and the stature of the event. The World Championship is obviously at the top, and the Grand Chess Tour is right up there as well, so winning this is amazing. The format is also incredibly tough. You have to prove yourself not just in Classical but also in Rapid and Blitz. I’m happy I was able to do it here,” he said.