
R Praggnanandhaa won the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz title with a round to spare, securing his first crown in the format. The Hindu BusinessLine and Deccan Herald report that the 20-year-old…
R Praggnanandhaa won the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz title with a round to spare, securing his first crown in the format. The Hindu BusinessLine and Deccan Herald report that the 20-year-old finished on 23.5 points, ahead of Javokhir Sindarov on 22 and Wesley So on 20.5. NDTV and The Economic Times put Praggnanandhaa’s score at 23 out of 35, creating a discrepancy across reports.
The victory lifted Praggnanandhaa to second in the overall Grand Chess Tour standings, according to The Hindu BusinessLine. He now faces the tour’s final classical event, beginning on Sunday, with a place in the season-ending finale within reach. He won Norway Chess earlier this year, ahead of Magnus Carlsen.
The easy story is that one tournament makes Praggnanandhaa the next world champion. That is premature. The equally lazy claim that a withdrawal handed him the title ignores his performance across rapid and blitz, while Alireza Firouzja’s removed points affect the wider standings, not this result. The immediate measure is simple: where Praggnanandhaa finishes in the final classical event, and whether he ends in the top three.
Sources (4): sports.ndtv.com, thehindubusinessline.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com, deccanherald.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 4 sources.