Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa has made a mark in the Grand Chess Tour 2024, finishing in the top three at the end of the rapid event. His performance in the Superbet Rapid and Blitz Chess Tournament, part of the Grand Chess Tour in Poland, has been commendable.
Praggnanandhaa’s good run at the Grand Chess Tour 2024
Praggnanandhaa emerged as the best-performing Indian in the rapid section of the tournament. His performance was highlighted by a draw against Wei Yi of China in the final. Wei Yi, who continued his brilliant form, won the rapid section.
World number one Magnus Carlsen had to be content with the second place. Despite a sole victory against Vincent Keymer of Germany and two draws on the final day of rapid, Carlsen couldn’t surpass Wei Yi’s score.
Praggnanandhaa scored 10 points, securing the sole third spot. His performance has been consistent, and he has shown great skill and strategy throughout the tournament.
Like a boa constrictor Magnus Carlsen tried to squeeze life out of Praggnanandhaa's position and to some extent he was successful! Pragg had very little time and was also a pawn down. At one point the Indian youngster came down to 1 second on his clock! But Pragg kept his cool,… pic.twitter.com/rsmlK3bnGn
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) May 11, 2024
Local star Duda Jan-Kryzstof and early leader Kirill Shevchenko of Romania ended up with nine points for a joint fourth-place finish. Erigaisi Arjun was tied for the sixth spot on eight points alongside Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
The tournament is only halfway through, with 18 more rounds of blitz to be played before a winner is decided in the USD 175000 prize money tournament. The field is still wide open, and each game in blitz is worth one point for a win and half for a draw.
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