India’s R Praggnanandhaa ascended to the top, joining France’s Alireza Firouzja as the joint leader after winning three matches in a row on the final day of the Zagreb Grand Chess Tour on Saturday.
On the second day of the Croatian leg of GCT, Gukesh put up a compelling performance to become joint-second in the tournament, while Praggnanandhaa also put up a decent performance. The 2026 Norway Chess champion went on to shine on the final day, rising to the top of the table.
Praggnanandhaa delivered his best in the final three rounds, defeating Croatia’s Ivan Saric, Romania’s Deac Bogdan-Daniel and the Netherlands’ Anish Giri to catch up with Alireza, tying for first place on 12 points. The Indian Granndmaster started with a strong victory over Saric and looked thoroughly in command.
In the second game, Praggnanandhaa dismantled Deac’s Petroff defence, breaking through by move 15. The Romanian soon lost a piece and never recovered. In the day’s final encounter, Praggnanandhaa was unstoppable against the usually dependable Anish Giri. He gained a pawn from a Catalan opening and sealed the victory with precise tactical manoeuvres, wrapping up the game in just 34 moves.
France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan remained within striking distance of the two leaders with a fine finish in the rapid section to reach 11 points, while reigning world champion D Gukesh of India and Germany’s Vincent Keymer are right on their toes with 10 points each.
For Gukesh, this turned out to be a contrasting day compared to Praggnanandhaa, as the youngest-ever world champion could only draw all three games to fall behind a little. Abdusattorov, Keymer and Alireza all split points with Gukesh.
Also read: Grand Chess Tour: Praggnanandhaa joint second after opening day
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