R Praggnanandhaa (PTI Photo) French GM (GM) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has placed India’s R Praggnanandha in the third tier (Tier B) for the upcoming Candidates tournament, which he called a bit of a “hot take”.While he made it clear that all eight players have a chance to win, he based his assessment on current form rather than pure skill.Quoted by The Indian Express, Vachier-Lagrave explained his decision: “It’s harsh because you know if we were in the first six or eight months of 2025 right now, Pragg would be at level S.”
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Abhimanyu Puranik Exclusive: Chess Journey, Help Divya Deshmukh in World Cup, Grand Swiss and moreHe admitted that Praggnanandhaa had a strong 2025 but pointed to a dip in performance in recent tournaments. According to him, the results at events such as Grand Swiss, World Cup and Wijk aan Zee showed the struggle to maintain top form.He added: “I’m not really convinced about his Wijk performance. And Wijk can do some damage too.” As the Candidates Tournament is close, he believes there may not be enough time for a full return to form. “If I have a guarantee that he can find the key to breaking this spiral, I would rank him as S. But now I will rank him as B. That’s why I think the current form is important.Vachier-Lagrave also stressed that slumps in form can be difficult to recover from, especially for a young player. “It’s hot, but it’s been 6 months and his form is really not great. He went on to explain: “From my own experience and the experience of other players – now it’s not just about one bad Wijk. It’s about six months of tournaments that were far from his best and it’s not easy to come off six months of results like that.”
