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Economic Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Economic Times
Praggnanandhaa wins Superbet Classic after a tough tiebreak
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France to win his first-ever tournament on the Grand Chess Tour by showcasing his supremacy in the the Superbet Classic here. The Indian, after drawing with the Armenian-American GM Levon Aronianin in the final round, was assured of a tie for the first place. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja also won to match Praggnanandhaa on 5.5 points. This led to a tiebreaker between the three, with five minutes and a two-second increment after every move. In the first game with black pieces, Praggnanandhaa had to work hard in a slightly difficult position against Firouzja but the end result was a draw. In the second game Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave. In the last game of the event, Praggnanandhaa crashed through the defences of Vachier-Lagrave earn the top prize. The Indian scored 1.5 points in his blitz games, half a point more than Firouzja and one more than the other French Grandmaster. It was a sweet comeback for Praggnanandhaa after last year's debacle when he lost all his games in the play-offs. "I didn't do so well last time. I guess getting to rest a few hours before the tiebreak certainly helps," Praggnanandhaa said at the prize-giving ceremony. After his relatively early draw with Aronian in the Classical game, the Indian had rested in his room for a few hours. Praggnanandhaa also thanked his second for the tournament, GM Vaibhav Suri, and his permanent trainer Grandmaster RB Ramesh on the occasion. The Indian won a cash award of USD 77,667 (around Rs 66 lakh) for his efforts. Results (Round 9): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 4) lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 5.5) beat Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 3); Wesley So (4) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 4) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5). Tiebreak result: Praggnanandhaa drew with Firouzja; Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Praggnanandhaa beat Vachier-Lagrave.
New Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Praggnanandhaa wins Superbet Classic after a tough tiebreak
BUCHAREST: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France to win his first-ever tournament on the Grand Chess Tour by showcasing his supremacy in the Superbet Classic here. The Indian, after drawing with the Armenian-American GM Levon Aronianin in the final round, was assured of a tie for the first place. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja also won to match Praggnanandhaa on 5.5 points. This led to a tiebreaker between the three, with five minutes and a two-second increment after every move. In the first game with black pieces, Praggnanandhaa had to work hard in a slightly difficult position against Firouzja but the end result was a draw. In the second game Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave. In the last game of the event, Praggnanandhaa crashed through the defences of Vachier-Lagrave earn the top prize. The Indian scored 1.5 points in his blitz games, half a point more than Firouzja and one more than the other French Grandmaster. It was a sweet comeback for Praggnanandhaa after last year's debacle when he lost all his games in the play-offs. "I didn't do so well last time. I guess getting to rest a few hours before the tiebreak certainly helps," Praggnanandhaa said at the prize-giving ceremony. After his relatively early draw with Aronian in the Classical game, the Indian had rested in his room for a few hours. Praggnanandhaa also thanked his second for the tournament, GM Vaibhav Suri, and his permanent trainer, Grandmaster RB Ramesh on the occasion. The Indian won a cash award of USD 77,667 (around Rs 66 lakh) for his efforts. Results (Round 9): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 4) lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 5.5) beat Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 3); Wesley So (4) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 4) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5). Tiebreak result: Praggnanandhaa drew with Firouzja; Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Praggnanandhaa beat Vachier-Lagrave.
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First Post
17-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Praggnanandhaa wins Superbet Chess Classic, but world champion Gukesh's form raises concerns
Chess world champion, D Gukesh of India, had another tough outing as he continues to struggle for form in 2025 after winning the World Chess Championship. read more R Praggnanandhaa won the Superbet Chess Classic in Romania but D Gukesh had a tough time in the tournament. Images: Grand Chess Tour on X Indian chess Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa secured his second big title of 2025 on Friday as he won the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2025, in contrast to world champion and compatriot D Gukesh, who finished joint sixth to ninth in the 10-player field. This is the first Grand Chess Tour victory for the 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa, who took a prize money of $77,667 (Rs 66,48,345 approximately). Earlier, he won the Tata Steel Chess 2025 . STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Praggnanandhaa's victory, however, wasn't clear-cut as he was tied for the first position with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja at the end of the nine rounds of classical chess. Praggnanandhaa eventually won a three-way tiebreaker to emerge as the winner. Praggnanandhaa wins title in tiebreaker The first two games in the tiebreaker — Praggnanandhaa vs Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave vs Firouzja — ended in draws. Praggnanandhaa clinched the title in the last blitz tiebreaker game by beating Vachier-Lagrave. What makes Praggnanandhaa's victory even more special is that he clinched the title despite managing seven draws in the nine rounds of the main event. Ahead of the final round, Praggnanandhaa had the sole lead, but he drew against Levon Aronian in the last game while Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave drew level by winning their last matches. Gukesh's poor form continues in Romania The 18-year-old world champion from India, Gukesh, however, had a tough time as his poor form continues. After finishing 11th in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour , the Chennai youngster would be hoping to turn around his fortunes in Bucharest, but it wasn't to be. The Indian Grandmaster only scored 4/9 with one win, six draws and two defeats. By the end of the seventh round in Bucharest, Gukesh was tied last. While he drew his match against Praggnanandhaa, he was beaten in 69 moves by Firouzja and in just 31 moves by Vachier-Lagrave. His only victory came against Aronian. While Gukesh is only 18 and his game is still developing, his form has become a concern as he gets ready to take world No.1 Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess on 25 May. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The Hindu
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Praggnanandhaa wins Superbet Classic after a tough tiebreak
Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France to win his first-ever tournament on the Grand Chess Tour by showcasing his supremacy in the Superbet Classic in Romania. The Indian, after drawing with the Armenian-American GM Levon Aronianin in the final round, was assured of a tie for the first place. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja also won to match Praggnanandhaa on 5.5 points. This led to a tiebreaker between the three, with five minutes and a two-second increment after every move. In the first game with black pieces, Praggnanandhaa had to work hard in a slightly difficult position against Firouzja but the end result was a draw. In the second game Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave. In the last game of the event, Praggnanandhaa crashed through the defences of Vachier-Lagrave earn the top prize. The Indian scored 1.5 points in his blitz games, half a point more than Firouzja and one more than the other French Grandmaster. It was a sweet comeback for Praggnanandhaa after last year's debacle when he lost all his games in the play-offs. 'I didn't do so well last time. I guess getting to rest a few hours before the tiebreak certainly helps,' Praggnanandhaa said at the prize-giving ceremony. After his relatively early draw with Aronian in the Classical game, the Indian had rested in his room for a few hours. Praggnanandhaa also thanked his second for the tournament, GM Vaibhav Suri, and his permanent trainer Grandmaster RB Ramesh on the occasion. The Indian won a cash award of $77,667 (around ₹66 lakh) for his efforts. Results (Round 9): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 4) lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 5.5) beat Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 3); Wesley So (4) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 4) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5). Tiebreak result: Praggnanandhaa drew with Firouzja; Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Praggnanandhaa beat Vachier-Lagrave.
India Today
17-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Praggnanandhaa wins Superbet Classic after a tough tiebreak
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France to win his first-ever tournament on the Grand Chess Tour by showcasing his supremacy in the Superbet Classic Indian, after drawing with the Armenian-American GM Levon Aronianin in the final round, was assured of a tie for first Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja also won to match Praggnanandhaa on 5.5 points. This led to a tiebreaker between the three, with five minutes and a two-second increment after every In the first game with black pieces, Praggnanandhaa had to work hard in a slightly difficult position against Firouzja but the end result was a draw. In the second game, Firouzja drew with the last game of the event, Praggnanandhaa crashed through the defences of Vachier-Lagrave to earn the top prize. The Indian scored 1.5 points in his blitz games, half a point more than Firouzja and one more than the other French was a sweet comeback for Praggnanandhaa after last year's debacle when he lost all his games in the play-offs."I didn't do so well last time. I guess getting to rest a few hours before the tiebreak certainly helps," Praggnanandhaa said at the prize-giving his relatively early draw with Aronian in the Classical game, the Indian had rested in his room for a few also thanked his second for the tournament, GM Vaibhav Suri, and his permanent trainer Grandmaster RB Ramesh on the occasion. The Indian won a cash award of USD 77,667 (around Rs 66 lakh) for his (Round 9): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 4) lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 5.5) beat Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 3); Wesley So (4) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 4) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5).Tiebreak result: Praggnanandhaa drew with Firouzja; Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Praggnanandhaa beat Watch
