Now Reading: Praggnanandhaa second in Sinquefield Cup after Armageddon loss
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Praggnanandhaa second in Sinquefield Cup after Armageddon loss
Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa finished second in the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis after losing the Armageddon tiebreak to Wesley So. The two tied on 5.5 points after nine rounds. So clinched…
Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa finished second in the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis after losing the Armageddon tiebreak to Wesley So. The two tied on 5.5 points after nine rounds. So clinched the title by forcing a draw with black pieces in the Armageddon following two drawn rapid games.
Praggnanandhaa needed a win against Anish Giri in the final round but could only draw. Earlier, Javokhir Sindarov also drew with So, failing to catch up. In the women's Cairns Cup, China's Tan Zhongyi won the title despite losing her final game to Stavroula Tsolakidou.
The event featured several draws in the final round, including Fabiano Caruana drawing with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Divya Deshmukh drew with Anna Muzychuk in the Cairns Cup.
Indian Opinion Analysis
At 21, Praggnanandhaa has now finished runner-up in two elite closed tournaments in 2026, Tata Steel earlier and the Sinquefield Cup now. The format’s Armageddon tiebreak is a lottery with black: So needed only a draw to win and played for it. Praggnanandhaa’s final-round draw against Giri, a top-ten player, shows he is closing the gap but cannot yet dictate terms. Wesley So built his lead with disciplined play, five draws and a win, and never lost a game. The next circuit event is the Norway Chess tournament in May, where Praggnanandhaa will start among the top seeds.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
