Superbet Classic: R Praggnanandhaa In Joint Lead With Three Others
Last Updated:
R Praggnanandhaa shares the lead with Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja after the end of the seventh round of the Superbet Classic.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa kept his joint lead intact drawing with fellow co-leader Alireza Firouzja of France in the seventh round of the Superbet Classic, a part of the Grand Chess Tour, on Thursday.
With four points out of a possible seven in his bag, Praggnanandhaa shares the lead with Fabiano Caruana of the United States, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France and Firouzja.
World champion D Gukesh's hunt for an elusive victory in the event will have to wait another day as he drew with Wesley So without causing any real trouble to the American.
With two more rounds to come, it seems like any of the four leaders could win the trophy and the top prize purse of USD 100,000.
With just 2.5 points in seven games, Gukesh is clearly struggling to make a mark in the event.
Praggnanandhaa did not have to stretch himself much against Firouzja in an English opening game. The Iranian-turned-French chess exponent did try some tricks but was kept away from employing any serious counterplay and the players arrived at a theoretically-drawn rook-and-pawn endgame pretty soon.
Results (Round 7): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 4) drew with Alireza Firouzja (4); Levon Aronian (USA, 3.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 4); Deac Bogdan Daniel (Rou, 3.5) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (4); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 3.5) beat Duda Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 2.5); Wesley So (USA, 3.5) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 2.5).
First Published:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
33 minutes ago
- NDTV
David Beckham To Be Awarded Knighthood By King Charles: Reports
David Beckham will be awarded a knighthood by King Charles III next week in recognition of his football career and his charity work, reports said Friday. The former England football captain is set to be named in the King's Birthday Honours List, according to the BBC and other sources. Other sporting figures who have been awarded the title include Beckham's former manager at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, and British tennis great Andy Murray. The Sun newspaper said he would take the title of "sir" and his wife Victoria, a former member of the Spice Girls pop group, will be known as Lady Beckham. Beckham played 115 times for England as well as for a list of high-profile clubs including United and Real Madrid. He is currently the president and co-owner of US team Inter Miami and co-owner of Salford City, who play in the fourth tier of English football. The 50-year-old, who has long been in the running for a knighthood, was appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2003 -- a lower award in Britain's honours system. Victoria later received the same award for services to the fashion industry. David Beckham was last month named in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential leaders in philanthropy. He is an official ambassador for The King's Foundation, supporting its education programmes and "efforts to ensure young people have a greater understanding of nature" and has been a UNICEF goodwill ambassador since 2005. Beckham is understood to have been on the verge of receiving a knighthood after helping London win its bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. But UK authorities placed a red flag on his nomination due to his involvement in an alleged tax avoidance scheme, according to previous reports. He was subsequently cleared. In 2017, British newspapers printed details of leaked emails in which Beckham criticiszed the honours system and the honours committee, according to the BBC. A spokesman for Beckham said at the time that the emails were "hacked", "doctored" and "private".
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
KL Rahul slams century in second Unofficial Test vs England Lions
KL Rahul (AFP Photo) NEW DELHI: India's seasoned batter KL Rahul delivered a commanding performance on Day 1 of the 2nd Unofficial Test against England Lions, bringing up a century off 151 balls at the County Ground in Northampton on Friday. The stylish right-hander struck 13 boundaries and a six en route to his hundred. Rahul, who made his Test debut in 2014 at the MCG against Australia, has represented India in 58 Tests, scoring 3,257 runs at an average of 33.57. Within the current Indian squad touring England, Rahul remains one of the most experienced players in English conditions. He has played nine Tests in England, tallying 614 runs at an average of 34.11, which includes two centuries and a half-century. His highest score in the country stands at 149. More to follow ....
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Managing Bumrah: The key to India's chances in England
Mumbai: Some one-on-one battles have the power to shape the course of a team contest. Especially when bowlers begin to play with a key batter's psyche — whether it was Shane Warne leaving Daryll Cullinan in a tailspin, Glenn McGrath rolling over Micheal Atherton, Zaheer Khan making short work of Graeme Smith... the list is a long one. But few did it like Jasprit Bumrah versus Usman Khwaja during the last Australian summer. 'I was just getting Bumrah'ed,' Khwaja would say after six dismissals across eight innings. English wicket-keeper batter Jamie Smith is already in awe of Bumrah. 'Hopefully, (bat) down at No. 7, I can watch other lads go and face him first,' he said. That's the effect Bumrah can have on his opponents. India's No1 pacer can well find a new bunny on the England tour but that is only if his body supports him. To his credit, on returning to T20 action in the IPL after back troubles in the Sydney Test match in January, the speedster has looked fit but the five-Test series in England will be his real challenge. 'Any adaptation to new weather conditions takes about 10 days to two weeks when you are switching formats,' said Ramji Srinivasan, former strength and conditioning coach of the Indian team. 'Moving from T20 to Test cricket is tricky because your workload can go up four to five times from 4-overs-a-day, spells are longer. Your acute workload has to be built gradually, until you reach a stage when you are bowling in the nets with near-match intensity and volume as you do in a match.' Having recovered from a stress reaction in his lower back - a precursor to a stress fracture, it's clear Bumrah will not play all five Tests. Australia will probably be the last and only time in his 45-Test career that Bumrah attempted to play five Tests in a series. His impact was freakish -- 32 wickets at an average of 13.06 and a strike rate of 28.3; the best for any Indian bowler in an away series. But by taking almost 25% of bowling load among 9 Indian bowlers used during the series, his workload management was botched up and he failed to complete the final Test. 'A lot of injuries happen because of overloading,' said Srinivasan. 'In the lead up to the England series, the balls he will bowl, at what speed, how many days in a week, distance he will cover, his throws in fielding, everything must be considered. Only the physios and trainer cannot decide. The head coach, fielding coach, the bowling coach, physio, S&C, all have to be involved in designing a program. For someone like Bumrah, you need the right customised concoction.' Alternate Tests? Bumrah has been consulting with New Zealand-based orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Rowan Schouten who operated on his back in 2023. Among alternatives suggested to manage his workload, there is one that will only see Bumrah to play alternate Test matches, HT learned. This may change based on how Bumrah's body holds up. The team management would also factor in the week-long break before the second and fourth Test of the series. 'We haven't taken that call, which three games is he going to play,' Gambhir said during India's pre-departure press conference on Thursday. 'We are going to have a discussion with him. A lot will depend on the results of the series, where the series is heading.' Without a sports science head — BCCI is yet to fill a vacancy — Bumrah's understanding of his own body's coping mechanism in consultation with on-tour physios will guide the team management on utilising their pace ace. Although the selectors have packed the squad with six more pace bowling options, India with and without Bumrah is like chalk and cheese. In Tests that he has played since making his debut, Bumrah has picked up nearly double the wickets (205 at Avg of 19.4) to second-placed R Ashwin. In SENA countries, his wickets, average and strike rate are well above other Indian pacers across generations Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan and Kapil Dev. Where Bumrah falls short is continuity. The fast bowler has missed nearly 35% of the Tests India has played since debut. Given his importance to India's fortunes across formats, he will continue to pick and choose. It will also be interesting to see how young captain Shubman Gill utilises his leading fast bowler in the long series given that even the number of short bursts will need to be controlled. With the series on the line, Rohit Sharma used Bumrah in nine short bursts on Day four of the Melbourne Test. Overworked and spent, Bumrah told his captain, 'Bas, ab aur nahi lag raha zor (Enough, I can't push it anymore).' As Shane Watson, former Australian bowling all-rounder, recently told HT, 'India can't push the breaking point with Bumrah again.'
