Praggnanandhaa Secures GCT Finale Spot; Wesley So Wins Sinquefield Cup

St. Louis (USA) Aug 28 (PTI) Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa secured his place in the Grand Chess Tour finale by finishing as the runner-up at the Sinquefield Cup. The title was claimed by American Wesley So, who triumphed in a thrilling three-way playoff.

Wesley So beat Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the ninth and final round, tying with Praggnanandhaa and fellow American Fabiano Caruana at the summit with 5.5 points each. In the subsequent playoff, So scored 1.5 points out of a possible two to emerge victorious.

Praggnanandhaa drew with the USA's Levon Aronian before defeating Caruana in the tiebreak to capture second place with one point. Caruana finished third after a lone draw against So in the tiebreaker.

With Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France already leading in the Grand Chess Tour points, Levon Aronian, along with Caruana and Praggnanandhaa, qualified for the GCT grand finale.

In the classical section, So, Caruana, and Praggnanandhaa ended with 5.5 points each, sharing the top spot, while Aronian claimed fourth with five points from nine games.

Vachier-Lagrave, Samuel Sevian of the USA, and Poland's Jan-Kryzsztof Duda tied for fifth, each accumulating 4.5 points, staying half a point ahead of world champion D Gukesh, who did not have a remarkable event.

France's Alireza Firouzja placed ninth with 3.5 points, and Abdusattorov concluded last with 2.5 points.

Praggnanandhaa showed potential for victory with a decisive win over Caruana in the first tiebreak game. However, he succumbed to So in the next round, and the American skillfully held Caruana to win the tournament.

Earlier, Praggnanandhaa comfortably drew with Aronian, securing his top-three finish. Aronian, seemingly focused on reaching the grand finale, engaged in a safe game with white pieces. The Four Knights opening led quickly to numerous exchanges and a drawn bishops endgame.

Gukesh and Caruana played to a draw out of an Italian opening, with Caruana's white pieces posing minimal challenges. The game concluded in a theoretically drawn rook and pawns ending.

The Chess Caravan now heads to Uzbekistan for the Grand Swiss starting September 3. This will be the strongest Swiss tournament ever, featuring many of the world's top players vying to finish in the top two, thus securing a spot in the next Candidates tournament—a pathway to challenge Gukesh in the upcoming world championship match.

Praggnanandhaa is currently the sole Indian to have qualified for the Candidates.

Final Round Results: Levon Aronian (USA, 5) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (IND, 5.5); Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5.5) drew with D Gukesh (IND, 4); Wesley So (USA, 5.5) defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2.5); Jan-Kryzsztof Duda (POL, 4.5) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 4.5); Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 3.5) drew with Samuel Sevian (USA, 4.5).

Tiebreakers: 1. Praggnanandhaa beat Caruana 2. Wesley So beat Praggnanandhaa 3. Wesley So drew with Caruana.

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