Pragg claims second title of the year with St Louis Rapid & Blitz chess

R. Praggnanandhaa, the 20-year-old Indian Grandmaster, continued his impressive run this year by clinching his maiden Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz title in emphatic fashion, sealing the championship with a round to spare on Friday. It is his second title of 2026 after he won the prestigious Norway Chess classical tournament ahead of world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen.

The Chennaiite finished with 23.5 points, ahead of Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov, who will challenge D. Gukesh for the world championship in November. The Indian will now look to maintain his form in the final tournament of the season, which begins on Sunday under the Classical format. “Grateful and thankful for all the love and support! Looking forward to my next...” Pragg said on his X handle.

Not losing a single game on the final day of the Rapid and Blitz tournament in the Grand Chess Tour, Pragg climbed to second place in the GCT standings, virtually securing a spot in the grand finale scheduled later this year. After winning the rapid section by a narrow margin over Sindarov, Pragg lost just one game in the blitz and secured the required victories to finish with 11.5 points out of a possible 18.

Sindarov, who was trailing Pragg by a full point after the rapid section, had to settle for second place with 22 points, while Wesley So of the United States finished third with 20 points overall.

The withdrawal of France’s Alireza Firouzja from the GCT, in the larger scheme of things, worked in favour of the lone Indian in the tour. Firouzja cited scheduling issues ahead of the final two events, and as per the pre-agreed rules, all the points he had accumulated so far were removed.

 Final standings: 1. R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 23.5); 2. Javokhir SIndarov (Uzb, 22); 3. Wesley So (Usa, 20.5); 4: Levon Aronian (USA, 19) 5-7. Fabiano Caruana (USA); Lenier Dominguez Perez (USA), Jorden Van Foreest (Ned) 17 each.