India Chess Wrap, May 16: Praggnanandhaa Wins Superbet Chess Classic After Tiebreak Thriller

India Chess Wrap, May 16: Praggnanandhaa Wins Superbet Chess Classic After Tiebreak Thriller

R Praggnanandhaa won the Superbet Chess Classic after a tense tiebreak playoff against Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. All three players had finished the main tournament with 5.5 points after nine rounds, which led to a three-way tiebreak to decide the winner.

Praggnanandhaa was leading the tournament before the final round, but his draw against Levon Aronian allowed Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave to catch up by winning their last games.

In the tiebreaks, the first two games — Praggnanandhaa vs Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave vs Firouzja — both ended in draws. The title was finally decided in the third game, where Praggnanandhaa defeated Vachier-Lagrave with a sharp performance.

This win was especially impressive because Praggnanandhaa had drawn seven out of his nine games in the main event. Despite that, he stayed focused and came out on top when it mattered most.

The other Indian player, World Champion D Gukesh, finished in ninth place with 4 points, after drawing his final game against Fabiano Caruana.

The next event in the Grand Chess Tour will be the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz in Croatia, starting on July 1. It will use a similar as the Poland leg, which was won by Vladimir Fedoseev.

Yash Kapadi and Darsh Shetty maintained their joint lead at the All India Chess Masters FIDE Rating Chess Championship after their much-anticipated Round 7 clash ended in a hard-fought draw.

Kapadi, playing with the white pieces on the top board, was locked in a tense battle with Shetty that went the distance.

With the draw, both players now have 6.5 points each and continue to lead the standings.

In a standout performance, 10-year-old Parv Hakani defeated Shreyas Kaushik to earn a full point.

Hakani now has five points and shares third place with five other contenders.

Published on May 16, 2025