Alireza Firouzja of France emerged victorious at the Sinquefield Cup, drawing his final game against Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa to secure the title and the overall Grand Chess Tour 2024 championship. Firouzja remained undefeated throughout the tournament, winning three games and drawing the remaining six.
Indian Grandmasters D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa secured draws in the second round of the Sinquefield Cup, the final event of the Grand Chess Tour. Gukesh, a World Championship challenger, battled to a draw against Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, while Praggnanandhaa drew against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France.
Alireza Firouzja of France showcased a dominant performance to win the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament, while Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa finished last despite improving in the blitz section. Firouzja’s victory puts him atop the Grand Chess Tour ranking, while Praggnanandhaa faces an uphill battle to secure a podium finish in the upcoming Sinquefield Cup.
Alireza Firouzja extended his lead in the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz chess tournament after a dominant performance in the first day of the blitz section. The French grandmaster now sits on 17.5 points, 1.5 points ahead of Wesley So, who had a stellar blitz performance with seven wins out of nine. Meanwhile, R. Praggnanandhaa remained in last place despite a couple of wins, including victories against Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura.
Indian chess stars D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa continued their strong performances at the Superbet Chess Classic, securing draws against Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave respectively. Meanwhile, top seed Fabiano Caruana missed out on his second consecutive win, drawing with Wesley So after a blunder deprived him of a clear advantage.
Magnus Carlsen emerged victorious at the 2024 Norway Open, claiming his sixth title after defeating Fabiano Caruana in a tiebreaker armageddon game. R Praggnanandhaa held out against Hikaru Nakamura in a tense classical format, but it wasn’t enough to elevate his position in the standings. Ju Wenjun made history in the Women’s competition, becoming the champion after defeating Lei Tingjie in a classical game.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen defeated R Praggnanandhaa in the Armageddon tiebreaker of their eighth-round game at the Norway Chess tournament. The victory extended Carlsen’s lead in the tournament to a full point with two rounds remaining. Carlsen was unable to overcome Praggnanandhaa’s solid play in the classical game and could only manage a draw. However, in the Armageddon game, Carlsen’s experience and guile proved too much for his younger opponent. Elsewhere in the tournament, Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja played out a thrilling draw in the classical game, with Firouzja ultimately winning the blitz showdown. World Champion Ding Liren suffered a setback, losing to Fabiano Caruana in the Armageddon game after squandering two winning positions. In the Women’s Norway Chess competition, world champion Wenjun Ju secured an impressive victory over Pia Cramling, solidifying her lead in the standings.
Indian Grandmaster D. Gukesh showcased resilience and skill, bouncing back from an initial setback to secure victories against compatriots R. Praggnanandhaa and Vincent Keymer of Germany. Notably, Gukesh held World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen to a draw in the sixth round of the Superbet rapid and blitz tournament in Warsaw. Praggnanandhaa also impressed with a strong performance, including wins over Anish Giri of the Netherlands and Keymer. Meanwhile, Carlsen and Wei Yi of China lead the standings with eight points each, followed by Praggnanandhaa and Shevchenko with seven points. Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi share fifth place with six points, while Keymer sits in ninth place with four points.
