India’s Praggnanandhaa finished joint third, Alireza won the title in Croatia Rapid & Blitz

Indian grandmaster and recently crowned Norwegian chess champion R. Praggnanandhaa finished joint third at the Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia tournament after a mixed final day in the blitz section, finishing with 21.5 points behind France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Praggnanandhaa had a disappointing start to the final day as he suffered a defeat at the hands of Germany’s Vincent Keymer. However, the 19-year-old has bounced back strongly, picking up six points from his last eight games to secure a place on the podium. His only other loss that day came against reigning world champion D. Gukesh, with one of his most notable victories coming against eventual champion Alirez Firouzja.

Firouzja, who dominated the opening day of the blitz tournament with an impressive eight points out of a possible nine, looked to maintain the same momentum on the final day. The French grandmaster managed just five points from his remaining matches, allowing Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov to match him at the top of the table with 23.5 points.

The title was ultimately decided by a tie-break after both players completed the level. The first two tie-breaks ended in draws before the contest moved to Armageddon. Playing with Black’s pieces, Firouzja held Abdusattorov to another draw, which was enough for him to win the championship under the Armageddon rules, where Black only requires a draw to be declared the winner.

Germany’s Vincent Keymer finished fifth overall with 20 points, 1.5 points ahead of India’s D. Gukesh, who finished the tournament in sixth place. Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri secured seventh place with 17 points, while Romania’s Bogdan-Daniel Deac finished eighth with 15 points. Another Dutch player, Jorden van Foreest, took ninth place with 12.5 points, while Croatia’s Ivan Saric rounded out the 10-player field with seven points.

THE GRAND CHESS TOUR ARRIVING

The tournament also had significant implications for the overall Grand Chess Tour standings. Firouzja’s victory earned him a winner’s check worth US$47,000, while runner-up Abdusattorov received US$42,000. Praggnanandhaa and Vachier-Lagrave tied for third place and took home US$25,000 each.

American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, despite missing out on the title in Croatia, continues to lead the overall Grand Chess Tour standings with 20 points. Vincent Keymer is in second place with 19 points, while Firouzja has moved up to third place with 18 points after his tournament win.

Praggnanandhaa is currently sixth in the Grand Chess Tour rankings with 11.5 points, leaving him with a lot of work to do if he hopes to qualify for the Grand Chess Tour Finals, which conclude later this year.

The Indian youngster will now turn his attention to the remaining events on the calendar to be held in St. Louis. Another rapid and blitz tournament is on the agenda, followed by the classic tournament, which offers Praggnanandhaa valuable opportunities to improve his standing and strengthen his bid for a place in the prestigious finals.

POINT CHART

1. Firouzja Alireza (Fra) 23.5; 2. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 23.5) 3. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 21.5) R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 21.5); 5. Vincent Keimer (German, 20); 6. D Gukesh (India) 18.5; 7. Anish Giri (Sun) 17; 8. Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou) 15; Jorden van Forest (Sun) 12.5; 10. Ivan Saric (Cro) 7.

– The end

Published on:

06 Jul 2026 17:19 IST