He becomes first Indian to achieve the feat after beating Fabiano Caruana in final
St Louis: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa on Thursday became the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour title, defeating American Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in a thrilling final at the Saint Louis Chess Club.
Praggnanandhaa began the final day six points behind Caruana but produced a remarkable comeback, winning both rapid games to take a two-point lead.
The Indian and Caruana then exchanged wins in the four-game blitz section, with the other two games ending in draws. Praggnanandhaa entered the final blitz game with a two-point advantage, meaning a draw was enough to seal the title.
Caruana could have forced additional games with a win, but Praggnanandhaa held his nerve to draw the final game and complete a memorable victory.
The 21-year-old Chennai player pocketed $200,000 for the triumph and earned a place in next year’s Grand Chess Tour along with Caruana and third-placed Wesley So.
So defeated Germany’s Vincent Keymer 18-12 in the third-place playoff.
The title caps a remarkable year for Praggnanandhaa, who earlier became the first Indian to win Norway Chess, a tournament in which he also defeated world No 1 Magnus Carlsen twice.
The field had finished in the following order, with Praggnanandhaa finishing as Seed No 1, Wesley So emerging as Seed No 2, Seed No 3 Fabiano Caruana, and Seed No 4 Vincent Keymer. The top three finishers received invitations to the 2027 Grand Chess Tour.
