R Praggnanandhaa Etches Name In History Books, Becomes First Indian To Claim Grand Chess Tour Title

R Praggnanandhaa produced a stellar display against Fabian Caruana to claim the Grand Chess Tour title. In the proceedings, he became the first Indian in history to secure the Grand Chess Tour finals in St. Louis.

R Praggnanandhaa Claims Grand Chess Tour Title

Praggnanandhaa was trailing but managed to come from behind and toppled a six-point deficit. He won both rapid games and then went on to secure the blitz game 15-13. He takes home a whopping $200000 as prize money, which also happens to be the biggest title of his distinguished career.

Caruana emerged as a favourite after he carried a six-point advantage, winning classical games. But Praggnanandhaa came from behind and showed his magic in the blitz and rapid games to defy the odds. After winning both rapid games to take an 11-9 lead, the Indian player drew the first blitz game to make it 12-10. However, Fabiano managed to hold his fort and fought back to win the second blitz game, leveling the score.

Praggnanandhaa then fiercely came back in the third rapid game and restored the lead to 14-12. He only had to draw the final game to secure a memorable win.

Gary Kasparov, Vidit Gujrati Hail Praggnanandhaa

Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov and Indian grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi congratulated R Praggnanandhaa after his Grand Chess Tour (GCT) title win.

Following the win, Kasparov, a former world champion and world number one, congratulated the Indian grandmaster, posting clapping emojis on his X handle to a post announcing him as the winner.

Vidit also posted on X, saying that he "could sense Pragg changing his style over the past two years."

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“Incredible achievement! Amazing performance for the last couple of months. But the seeds were sown much earlier, I could sense Pragg changing his style over the past 2 years. Initially it wasn't easy, but now we can see the results!,”

(WITH ANI INPUTS)