Praggnanandhaa finishes second in Sinquefield Cup
Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa finished second in the Sinquefield Cup after losing a tie-break match to Wesley So. The tournament concluded with So securing the win following a series of draws in the final round.
Why it matters
This result marks a significant performance for a prominent Indian chess player on the international stage.
Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa tied with Wesley So for the top spot on points after nine rounds but lost out in the Armageddon to finish second in the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis.
After drawing with Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the final round, Praggnanandhaa forced a tiebreaker against So, who was leading for the most part. In the tie-break, So played out a draw with black pieces in the Armageddon to win the tournament after the two Rapid games were drawn.
Praggnanandhaa needed to beat Giri to edge past So in the standings but the Dutchman found some resourceful moves when it mattered the most.
In the final round, Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov had to win with black against So to catch up with him at the top. The American played solidly, exchanged pieces at will and reached a bishop and pawns endgame to force a draw.
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