R Praggnanandhaa becomes first Indian to win Grand Chess Tour title

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour title after staging a remarkable comeback to beat Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in St. Louis, rallying from six points behind to clinch the USD 200,000 winner's purse

St. Louis (USA): Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to clinch the Grand Chess Tour title, beating Fabiano Caruana of the USA with a stunning comeback victory in the grand finale here.

Praggnanandhaa made a remarkable turnaround on Thursday after trailing Caruana by six points at the start of the day at the Saint Louis Chess Club.

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The Indian eventually prevailed 15-13 to win his maiden Grand Chess Tour (GCT) title and pocket USD 200,000 as the winner’s purse.

The title win also guaranteed Praggnanandhaa a spot in next year’s Grand Chess Tour, along with Caruana and another American, Wesley So, who defeated Vincent Keymer of Germany 18-12 to finish third.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I had many chances today,” Praggnanandhaa told Chess.com.

“It’s not every day that you can get one win against Fabi, but to get two, it was important in the rapid.”

The 21-year-old Chennai lad, who has been mentored by five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, started the day six points behind but pulled another rabbit out of the hat, taking a two-point lead after winning both rapid games. The winner of each rapid game received four points.

It was even in the subsequent four blitz games, with Praggnanandhaa and Caruana winning one each while the remaining two were drawn.

The two-point lead at the end of the rapid games proved decisive for the Indian grandmaster.

The first game of the blitz section ended in a draw before Caruana won the second to level the scores at 12-12.

A determined Praggnanandhaa prevailed in the third game to restore his two-point lead at 14-12.

Had Caruana won the final blitz game, he would have forced two more games under a peculiar time control, followed by an Armageddon game.

However, a draw was enough for Praggnanandhaa to win the match, and he did just that to seal a famous title triumph.

“Congratulations to Praggnanandhaa on winning his first-ever Grand Chess Tour title!” the Grand Chess Tour’s official handle posted on X.

“Pragg defeats Fabiano Caruana in a thrilling final match to cap off an incredible season and claim the GCT crown for the first time in his career! What a comeback, what a fight, and what a way to become champion!”

Earlier this year, Praggnanandhaa had become the first Indian to win the Norway Chess title, a campaign that featured two victories over world No. 1 and tournament favourite Magnus Carlsen.