Chess: Praggnanandhaa clinches St.Louis Rapid and blitz title

St. Louis: Indian grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa has clinched the Grand Chess Tour St. Louis Rapid and Blitz title with a round to spare.

A draw between Praggnanandhaa and Javokhir Sindarov in their final head-to-head secured the title for the Indian Grand Master. The 20-year-old India secured the championship after finishing with 23 points out of a possible 35.

Sindarov claimed second place with 22 points after a fantastic tournament, while Wesley So finished third on 20.5.

Levon Aronian took fourth with 19, and Fabiano Caruana, Leinier Dominguez, and Jorden van Foreest shared fifth place on 17.

He earned USD 50,000 and 13 Grand Chess Tour points for winning outright, avoiding a playoff. The result moved Praggnanandhaa into second place in the Grand Chess Tour standings ahead of the Sinquefield Cup. Fabiano keeps leading the overall Grand Chess Tour standings.

Praggnanandhaa maintained the lead throughout the five-day event, while Sindarov mounted a strong challenge in the final stages but fell short, finishing runner-up with a 1.5-point deficit.

In June, Praggnanandhaa scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win the prestigious Norway Chess title.

The 2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz brought ten elite grandmasters to the Saint Louis Chess Club from July 31 to August 7. Across five days of play, the field contested nine rapid rounds and eighteen blitz rounds; 135 games in all, with critical Tour Points on the line before the Sinquefield Cup and GCT Grand Finals.

The tournament combines two fast-paced disciplines: a 9-round single round-robin Rapid tournament (played at a time control of 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment from move one) and an 18-round double round-robin Blitz tournament (played at 5 minutes plus a 2-second increment from move one).

Rapid wins count for 2 points and draws for 1 point, while Blitz wins count for 1 point and draws for 0.5 point.

IANS