Grand Chess Tour: Praggnanandhaa takes joint lead after Zagreb

R Praggnanandhaa won all three of his games on the final day of the rapid section to overtake France’s Alireza Firouzja at the top of the Croatian Grand Chess Tour standings. World champion D Gukesh slipped to fifth place after drawing all three games.

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa produced a flawless finish to the fast-paced Croatian leg of the Grand Chess Tour, winning all three games on Saturday to move into joint first place with France’s Alireza Firouzja in Zagreb.

Praggnanandhaa started the final day behind the leaders but finished on 12 points after victories over Croatia’s Ivan Saric, Romania’s Deac Bogdan-Daniel and Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri.

The Indian’s late surge saw him tied with Firouzja for the lead heading into the blitz section where the next 18 laps will determine the overall winner.

France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov remained in touch with 11 points, while reigning world champion D Gukesh and Germany’s Vincent Keymer were tied for fifth with 10 points.

Praggnanandhaa was in complete control against Saric in the opening game of the day. Playing the Caro-Kann defence, the Indian soon built up a better position and patiently converted his advantage to record his first victory.

He followed this up with an even more convincing speech against Deac. Facing a Petroff defense, Praggnanandhaa broke through the Romanian’s position early, winning a piece before comfortably converting a material advantage.

The 19-year-old saved his best for the last round, defeating the ever-reliable Anish Giri in just 34 moves. After winning a pawn from the Catalan Opening, Praggnanandhaa produced a precise tactical play to wrap up his third win in a row and complete a perfect day.

While Praggnanandhaa climbed the ladder, Gukesh endured a quieter end to the fast section. The world champion drew all three matches against Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Firouzja and lost ground in the title fight.

The standings remain tightly packed heading into the lightning segment, with just two points separating the joint leaders from Gukesh in fifth.

The 18-round blitz section starts next and is expected to play a decisive role in determining the winner of the Zagreb leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

04 Jul 2026 16:00 IST