Praggnanandhaa Draws with So; Gukesh's Hopes Dashed in Sinquefield Cup

St. Louis (USA), Aug 27 (PTI) — In a thrilling penultimate round of the Sinquefield Cup, Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa drew with Wesley So of the United States, keeping his chances alive for a top-four finish in the overall Grand Chess Tour standings.

The reigning world champion, D Gukesh, also ended his round with a draw against USA's Levon Aronian. However, this result dashed his hopes of contending in this ten-player round-robin tournament.

French chess player Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ensured a draw with the white pieces against USA’s Fabiano Caruana. Caruana’s strong performance throughout the tournament secured his place in the grand finale, regardless of the final round's outcome.

The top four players in the Grand Chess Tour standings will advance to the finals, which will be introduced this year and held in São Paulo, Brazil. Apart from Vachier-Lagrave, Aronian, Caruana, and Praggnanandhaa are the main contenders for the finals.

Currently, Praggnanandhaa and Caruana are each sitting at 5.5 points from eight games, half a point ahead of the rest of the field. Trailing them by half a point are Wesley So and Levon Aronian, each holding a narrow lead over USA’s Samuel Sevian, Poland's Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Vachier-Lagrave.

Gukesh remains eighth in the standings with 3.5 points, ahead of France’s Alireza Firouzja, who has 3 points, and Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov with 2.5 points.

In his match against Wesley So, Praggnanandhaa faced the Two Knights Defense within an Italian Opening. Wesley opted for the established theory, sacrificing a pawn for counterplay. Praggnanandhaa maintained his pawn advantage but eventually achieved a slight positional imbalance, which nullified his extra material. Wesley effectively maneuvered his pieces, leading the game to a draw through repetition once players acknowledged the limited options remaining.

Meanwhile, Gukesh's clash with Aronian was an eventful encounter that developed from a Queen Pawn Opening. Gukesh initially seemed to hold a slight edge during the early middle game, but Aronian remained within striking distance. Ultimately, Aronian advanced a passed pawn on the queenside to the seventh rank, forcing Gukesh to trade his rook for a minor piece to halt it. The game culminated in a bare-kings scenario after 77 moves.

Results Round 8: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2.5) beat Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 3); R Praggnanandhaa (IND, 5) drew with Wesley So (USA, 4.5); Samuel Sevian (USA, 4) drew with Duda Jan-Krzysztof (POL, 4); D Gukesh (IND, 3.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 4) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5).

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