St. Louis, 05 August (H.S.): Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa delivered a stellar performance in the rapid section of the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz Chess Tournament, finishing at the top of the standings. After nine rounds, he accumulated 12 points out of a possible 18, strengthening his hopes of securing a place in the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) Final scheduled later this year.

Having already been eliminated from the 2026 World Championship race, Praggnanandhaa showcased exceptional strategic precision, technical brilliance and a strong fighting spirit during the rapid stage. Although he suffered a defeat against Dutch Grandmaster Jorden van Foreest in the final (ninth) round, he remained at the top of the leaderboard with a one-point advantage.

Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov occupies the second position with 11 points. Sindarov is set to challenge India's D. Gukesh in the World Chess Championship title match later this year. American Grandmaster Wesley So is also in contention with 11 points.

However, the tournament will not be decided solely on the basis of the rapid stage. Players will now compete in 18 blitz games, where each victory will earn one point. The winner of the tournament, which carries a total prize purse of US$200,000, will receive US$50,000.

Had Praggnanandhaa won his final rapid round, his advantage heading into the blitz stage would have been even stronger. In the rapid section, he finished with four wins, four draws and one loss, collecting 12 points.

Following the rapid stage, Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Anish Giri and Vincent Keymer are jointly placed fourth with nine points each. Among them, Keymer is regarded as a strong blitz chess player and could make the title race even more competitive.

After this 10-player round-robin event, the prestigious Sinquefield Cup will be held in the classical chess format.

Top standings after the rapid stage:

1. R. Praggnanandhaa (India) – 12 points

2. Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan) – 11 points

3. Wesley So (USA) – 11 points

4. Levon Aronian (USA), Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA), Anish Giri (Netherlands) and Vincent Keymer (Germany) – 9 points each.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar