Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz chess on Thursday, 7 August. The 20-year-old dished out a dominant performance to maintain his lead in the blitz section and eventually win the tournament. This was also the first time the Indian won a combined rapid and blitz chess tournament.
Praggnanandhaa had a draw in the penultimate round, which helped him clinch the title with one round to go. Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov finished second, falling short of the Indian chess star by just 1.5 points. With this victory, Praggnanandhaa bagged a sum of $50,000 (Rs 47,67,732) and 13 GCT points.
Praggnanandhaa drew 5 out of 9 blitz rounds
Praggnanandhaa maintained a lead in all five days of the competition. He played out a total of five draws, registering three wins while losing one in the last nine blitz rounds. Earlier, Praggnanandhaa had come out on top in the rapid section, securing 12 points out of a possible 18.
Credit: Chess.com
The Indian lauded Javokhir for putting up the fight that he did. “When you see the score… everything looks smooth, but it wasn’t the case. It was crazy. I mean, kudos to Javokhir, he kept the fight to the end.”
Praggnanandhaa’s win also sees him move to the second spot in the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) standings with 24.5 points, 0.5 short of leader Fabiano Caruana. This victory is an addition to the Indian Grandmaster’s growing legacy in chess.
‘Super happy with the result’
After the victory, Praggnanandhaa shared a video on his Instagram account where he expressed his happiness and showed gratitude to everyone who supported him. “This is my first major rapid and blitz victory, so I am really happy about it,” he said.
Praggnanandhaa is now going to be in action at the Sinquefield Cup, which will start on 10 August. The players finishing in top four of the event will advance to the Grand Chess Tour finals. “Next, I’ll play in the Sinquefield Cup, which will start in three days. So there’s not much time to rest. It’s also the event before the GCT finals, so its going to be really interesting,” he added.
Praggnanandhaa had won Norway Chess 2026
Two months ago, Praggnanandhaa had made history by becoming the first Indian to win the Norway Chess title. He had beaten Wesley So to claim the title.
