New Delhi: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa produced a spirited comeback on the final day to secure a joint third place finish at the Croatia leg of the Grand Chess Tour, while France’s Alireza Firouzja emerged champion after a dramatic tie break victory.
Praggnanandhaa ended the tournament with 21.5 points, sharing third place with French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier Lagrave. Despite beginning the final day with a defeat against Germany’s Vincent Keymer, the Indian recovered impressively by collecting six points from his remaining eight blitz games. He also suffered a loss to fellow Indian D Gukesh but registered a notable victory over eventual champion Firouzja.
Firouzja, who had dominated the opening day of the blitz competition by scoring an impressive eight points from nine games, faced a tougher challenge on the final day and added only five more points. His total of 23.5 points was matched by Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, forcing the title to be decided through a tie break.
The first two tie break games ended in draws before the contest moved to an Armageddon game. Playing with the black pieces, Firouzja secured the draw he needed to clinch the tournament title and lift the Croatia Grand Chess Tour trophy.
Vincent Keymer finished fifth with 20 points, while reigning World Champion D Gukesh ended his campaign in sixth place with 18.5 points. Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri claimed seventh place with 17 points, followed by Romania’s Bogdan Daniel Deac in eighth. Jorden van Foreest of the Netherlands finished ninth, while Croatia’s Ivan Saric completed the standings in tenth place.
Firouzja received the winner’s prize of 47,000 US dollars, while Abdusattorov earned 42,000 dollars. Praggnanandhaa and Vachier Lagrave shared the third place prize money of 25,000 dollars each.
In the overall Grand Chess Tour standings, Fabiano Caruana continues to lead with 20 points, followed by Keymer on 19 and Firouzja on 18. Praggnanandhaa is currently sixth with 11.5 points and will look to improve his position in the remaining events in St Louis later this year.
