Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa’s loss to Fabiano Caruana in the Super Chess Classic has shaken up the tournament standings, impacting his chances for a podium finish.
IMAGE: Fabiano Caruana defeated R Praggnanandhaa with the black pieces to join the tournament lead on 4.5. Photograph: Grand Chess Tour/X
Key Points
- R Praggnanandhaa lost to Fabiano Caruana in the seventh round of the Super Chess Classic.
- Jorden Van Foreest gained advantage from Alireza Firouzja’s withdrawal.
- Javokhir Sindarov defeated Vincent Keymer, impacting the tournament leaderboard.
- Caruana, Foreest, and Keymer now jointly lead the tournament with 4.5 points.
- Praggnanandhaa’s loss jeopardises his chances for a top finish in the competition.
Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa on Thursday lost his first game in the Super Chess Classic after being defeated by Fabiano Caruana of the United States in a dramatic seventh round of the tournament that is a part of the Grand Chess tour in Bucharest.
Key Results From The Super Chess Classic
On a day when Jorden Van Foreest of Holland benefitted from the withdrawal of Frenchman Alireza Firouzja, world championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan put it across overnight leader Vincent Keymer of Germany.
With two rounds still to come, Keymer was joined by Foreest and Caruana in the lead on 4.5 points while Anish Giri of Holland now follows the three leaders a half point behind.
Praggnanadhaa remained on 3.5 points in the company of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, Wesley So of the United States and Sindarov. Deac Bogdan-Daniel is on 2.5 points.
Praggnanandhaa’s Game Analysis
Praggnanandhaa’s first loss in the tournament almost threw him out of contention for a top place finish. The Indian started with the Queen pawn opening and faced the fashionable Ragozine variation in the Queen’s gambit declined.
Knowing well that a victory was necessary to stay in contention, Praggnanandhaa went for a pretty complex position in the middle game but found Caruana at ease in the tactics that ensued.
With precision, the top seeded American found resourceful moves to put the Indian on the backfoot and then launched a decisive attack on the white king that could not be parried. The game lasted just 33 moves.
Sindarov’s Victory Over Keymer
Sindarov outplayed Keymer in another Queen pawn game of the day albeit with white pieces.
Keymer was out of sorts in this encounter as he did not get the desired counter play after sacrificing a pawn and Sindarov was quick to pounce on the chances offered in the middle game and romped home in 40 moves.
Tournament Outlook
With a total prize pool of $375,000 with $100,000 reserved for the winner, there is still some chance that Praggnanandhaa can finish on the podium but the battle for the title seems to be between the top four in standings as of now.
Results after round 7: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 3.5) drew with Deac Bogdan-Daniel (ROU, 2.5) R Praggnanandhaa (IND, 3.5) lost to Fabiano Caruana (USA, 4.5); Javokhir SIndarov (UZB, 3.5) beat Vincent Keymer (GER, 4.5); Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 1) gave walkover to Jorden Van Foreest (NED, 4.5); Anish Giri (NED, 3) drew with Wesley So (USA, 3.5).
