Praggnanandhaa becomes first Indian to win Grand Chess Tour title

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to clinch the Grand Chess Tour title, beating Fabiano Caruana of the USA with a stunning comeback victory in the grand finale here.

Praggnanandhaa made a remarkable turnaround on Thursday after trailing Caruana by six points at the start of the day at the Saint Louis Chess Club.

The Indian eventually prevailed 15-13 to win his maiden Grand Chess Tour (GCT) title and pocket USD 200,000 as



the winner’s purse.

The title win also guaranteed Praggnanandhaa a spot in next year’s Grand Chess Tour, along with Caruana and another American, Wesley So, who defeated Vincent Keymer of Germany 18-12 to finish third.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I had many chances today,” Praggnanandhaa told Chess.com.

“It’s not every day that you can get one win against Fabi, but to get two, it was important in the rapid.”