Praggnanandhaa scripts historic win, lifts maiden Grand Chess Tour Finals title
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Praggnanandhaa scripts historic win, lifts maiden Grand Chess Tour Finals title")
R Praggnanandhaa Photograph: (FIDE)
R Praggnanandhaa scripted history with a stunning comeback victory over Fabiano Caruana, becoming the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour. The landmark triumph adds another highlight to his impressive 2026 campaign.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa completed a stunning comeback against Fabiano Caruana to win the final, secure his maiden Grand Chess Tour Finals title in St. Louis and take home the $200,000 winner’s prize. According to Chess.com, Praggnanandhaa created history by becoming the first Indian player to win the Grand Chess Tour.
Praggnanandhaa started the day six points behind Caruana but quickly shifted the momentum, winning both rapid games to move ahead before drawing all four blitz games. This helped him seal the title with a 15-13 overall victory.
In the opening blitz game, Praggnanandhaa had a strong chance to win but made a mistake during a tense time scramble. His position then became difficult, but Caruana could not take advantage and the game ended in a draw.
In the third-place playoff, Wesley So also produced a strong comeback against Vincent Keymer. The players shared the two rapid games, but So took control in the blitz section, winning all four games. He sealed an 18-12 victory with a game to spare.
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Earlier on Wednesday, Praggnanandhaa had drawn his second classical game against Caruana. However, Caruana still held a six-point advantage going into the final day.
The young Indian had suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat in the first classical game but bounced back to draw the second game 3-3.
With inputs from agencies
