Latest news with #SuperbetChessClassic2025
Business Wire
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Business Wire
Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu Wins 2025 Superbet Chess Classic Romania in Thrilling Playoff
BUCHAREST, Romania & SAINT LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a thrilling playoff finale, Indian Grandmaster (GM) Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu emerged victorious as the 2025 Superbet Chess Classic Romania champion, capturing his first-ever Grand Chess Tour title during the second leg of the elite global series. Indian Grandmaster Wins Second Leg of the Grand Chess Tour; Takes Home $77,667 Prize Share 'It feels great to win a Grand Chess Tour event,' said Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. 'Last year, I came close but fell short in the tiebreak, so having a few hours to rest beforehand this time made a real difference—the games can get so intense. I've been working on playing more ambitiously, and I'm incredibly grateful to my support team for helping me get here.' GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja won in the final round to squeeze into a three-way tie for first. It was only after three playoff blitz games that Praggnanandhaa won the title. Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave both won $67,667. 'Superbet Chess Classic 2025 was a truly exciting tournament from the very first round. The mix of experienced grandmasters and rising young talents created an atmosphere of fighting chess that lasted throughout the event. For the second year in a row, the final round brought a dramatic climax, with a tie-break among the top three players. This tournament once again proves our concept: bringing together established champions and emerging stars from around the world, many of whom are already part of the chess elite. We are proud to be part of such a remarkable event,' said Michael Khodarkovsky, GCT Executive Director. _________________________ 1 Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu won the event playoffs to secure first place. Expand 'Congratulations to Praggnanandhaa on his first Grand Chess Tour victory at the Superbet Chess Classic in Romania. Over nine days of intense competition, the tournament showcased the extraordinary talent of every participant. We are especially proud of Romanian player Bogdan Deac and his impressive performance. A heartfelt thank you to all the players for making this an unforgettable event, and to the chess fans around the world who followed each move with enthusiasm,' said Augusta Dragic, President of the Superbet Foundation. Next up, marking the midway point of the Grand Chess Tour, the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia —sponsored by the Superbet Foundation —kicks off on July 1 in Zagreb. Following the same fast-paced format as the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland, this major tour stop will feature seven full-tour players and three wildcards, including World #1 GM Magnus Carlsen. Live commentary begins at 8:00 a.m. CDT with GMs Yasser Seirawan, Cristian Chirila, and Peter Svidler, IM Nazi Paikidze, and WGM Anastasia Karlovich on the Saint Louis Chess Club's Twitch & YouTube channels. The remaining 2025 tour schedule will include: SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia: June 30-July 7, 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz: August 9-17, 2025 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA Sinquefield Cup: August 16-29, 2025 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA GCT Finals: September 26-October 4, 2025 in São Paulo, Brazil GCT participants are currently competing for a recently increased prize purse of $1.6 million over the course of the 2025 season. The prize fund for each of the two classical tournaments will be $350,000 and $175,000 per event for rapid and blitz. Top four finishers of the regular season of five tournaments will compete for the purse of additional $350,000 in the knockout matches at the GCT finals. For more information, visit About the Grand Chess Tour The Grand Chess Tour is a circuit of international events, each demonstrating the highest level of organization for the world's best players. The legendary Garry Kasparov, one of the world's greatest ambassadors for chess, inspired the Grand Chess Tour and helped solidify the partnership between the organizers. For more information about the tour, please visit About the Superbet Foundation Since 2019, Superbet Foundation has made chess one of its core initiatives by organizing the first tournament of the Grand Chess Tour in Bucharest. The Foundation is committed to establishing a tradition of Grand Chess Tour tournaments within the Romanian and Polish chess communities. For more information, visit About the Saint Louis Chess Club The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures. Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit
United News of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Praggnanandhaa title win at Superbest Chess in Romania a defining moment : Stalin
Chennai, May 17 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin congratulated chess prodigy GM Praggnanandhaa for winning the Superbet Chess Classic 2025 in Romania and termed it as a defining moment in Indian chess. In a post on X, he said "Congratulations to our Chennai pride, Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa, on winning the prestigious Superbet Chess Classic 2025 in Romania—his maiden Grand Chess Tour title!". His brilliance across classical and blitz rounds showcased extraordinary composure and tactical depth, he said. "Tamil Nadu celebrates this defining moment in Indian chess!", he said. UNI GV 1600
Indian Express
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Blunder, zugzwang, resignation: How one move from Gukesh forced him to lose from a drawn position vs Alireza Firoujza
Of all the words in the chess vocabulary, zugzwang is probably the one that chess players find the most irritating (Or the most pleasing). The word is a gift to the sport from the Germans, and refers to a situation in a chess battle where you get arm-twisted into making a bad move — because no good ones are possible. It's one of those excruciating moments in chess where you wish you could be allowed to pass on a move because the only moves you can make significantly weaken your chances. Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju lost his round 6 clash against Alireza Firoujza at the Superbet Chess Classic 2025 in Bucharest late on Tuesday after a blunder on move 53 with his dark-squared bishop, which allowed the French-Iranian grandmaster to arm-twist him into a zugzwang which then led to a resignation with checkmate unavoidable. Defeat to Alireza in round 6 means that Gukesh is still without a win in the entire tournament in Bucharest. The world champion has lost twice now at the event, and is currently 10th in the 10-player standings. Since he became the youngest world champion in the history of the sport at the age of 18 last year, Gukesh has had limited success on the chess board. He did almost win the title at Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee at the start of the year. He was denied there after losing the final game to Arjun Erigaisi, and then losing to Pragg in a tie-break. Since then, he's played in two Freestyle Chess events where there has been little reason to celebrate. But those were freestyle chess events — a variant of the sport that players have called a completely different sport altogether. Just before Gukesh made the fateful move — 53… Bg5 — the game was ambling towards a peaceful draw. In fact, on the live broadcast of the game on the Saint Louis Chess Club YouTube page, grandmaster Peter Svidler who was analysing games, had declared, 'This is not going to go anywhere for a while'. He had just signalled to the broadcast team behind the scenes to switch the graphics to the game between Fabiano Caruana and Bogdan-Daniel Deac. And then, Gukesh shifted his bishop to g5, and changed the contours of the game. 'Sir, what are you doing, sir?' said a stunned Svidler, who has been working as a trainer for another member of India's golden generation, Praggnanandhaa, since last year. 'Why would you (do that), why would you remove it from the long diagonal? Why isn't the bishop on the long diagonal? I do not understand,' he shrugged. Another veteran grandmaster, GM Yasser Seirawan, who was also on the commentary panel, was equally baffled. 'That bishop to g5 is a move we will question for the ages,' said Seirawan. 'The bishop was on a magnificent square. This is the world champion we are talking about, walking into an obvious zugzwang. Bishop to g5 was totally uncalled for. That's it! That blunders the pawn!' READ MORE: Why Vishy Anand prescribes a 'take it easy policy' for teenage world beaters like Gukesh, Pragg and Arjun Erigaisi What Seirawan meant was, as soon as Gukesh had shifted his bishop to g5 rather than putting it on e5, or even c3, it allowed Alireza to plant his rook on b7, threatening Gukesh's only remaining pawn on f7. Gukesh moved his pawn forward by a square, which allowed his rival to slide his rook behind the pawn. Now, Gukesh had no option but to move his bishop away from protecting his pawn, and as soon as he did, Alireza rook gobbled it up while also delivering a check on Gukesh's king. After some desperate dodging, Gukesh surrendered 13 moves later. READ MORE | Garry Kasparov: 'I beat strongest player to become world champion, Gukesh is in different situation because Magnus Carlsen is there' Before that error from Gukesh, he and Alireza had played out a rollercoaster middlegame that saw the Frenchman, playing with white pieces, hold an edge as early as the 18th move after the world champion opted not to castle his king to safety and tuck it away behind a column of two doubled pawns. But Gukesh had managed to maneuver his way out of trouble as his opponent had courted time trouble by the 23rd move and then squander his edge right around the 30th move, when Gukesh spent his time well to find moves that kept him alive. Gukesh will now face the three Americans in his final three games — Wesley So, Levon Aronian and Caruana.
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First Post
13-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Praggnanandhaa in joint lead at Superbet Chess Classic 2025, Gukesh still winless
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa held Poland's Duda Jan-Krzysztof to a draw in Round 6 of the Superbet Chess Classic 2025 in Bucharest, maintaining joint lead with 3.5 points in the Grand Chess Tour. read more R Pragggnandhaa is leading with 3.5 points after six rounds. Image: AP Bucharest, Romania: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa played out a draw with Poland's Duda Jan-Krzysztof to maintain joint lead with 3.5 points after the sixth round of Superbet Chess Classics, a part of the grand chess tour. Playing the black side of an English opening, Praggnanandhaa was subjected to some initial tactics by Duda but the Indian was quite up to task in not giving any free-way to the Polish opponent. Duda showed his intent with a queen sacrifice for a rook and minor piece in the middle game and Praggnanandhaa was quick to realise that his chances were slim. The draw was the best result possible as neither player could make much progress. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, it was a mixed day for Indian fans as D. Gukesh suffered a defeat at the hands of France's Alireza Firouzja, denting his chances in the tournament. Meanwhile, USA's Fabiano Caruana was seen trying hard to break through with a piece sacrifice against local hero Deac Bogdan-Daniel but it looked though he would have to settle for a draw as well. The other overnight leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave could do little with his white pieces either as drew very quickly with Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan. Results (round 6): Duda jan-Krzysztof (Pol, 2.5) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 3.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 3.5) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 2); Levon Aronian (Usa, 3) drew with Wesley So (Usa, 3); Firouzja Alireza (Fra, 2.5) beat D Gukesh (Ind, 2); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 3) playing Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 2.5).
