Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa is set to begin his campaign at the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament today with a decent draw. He will face Levon Aronian of the United States with the black pieces.
Praggnanandhaa, who will also compete with the white pieces against French players Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja, as well as U.S. Grand Chess Tour leader Fabiano Caruana and Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, aims to improve his current third-place ranking on the tour.
After a strong start to the year, Praggnanandhaa struggled at the Biel Masters, causing him to fall out of the top ten in the world rankings. Now 19, he hopes to rebound in the final two events of the season.
The tournament boasts a prize pool of $175,000, with Caruana entering as a favourite following his recent successes. Caruana clinched victory in the Superbet Classic in Bucharest and won the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz in Zagreb with five rounds to spare.
Hikaru Nakamura, a wild-card entrant alongside Lenier Dominguez and Aronian, could disrupt the field. Despite recent challenges, Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, a two-time world championship challenger, has the potential to regain his form.
The five-day event will feature nine rounds of rapid chess and eighteen rounds of blitz. Rapid victories are worth two points each, with one point for a draw.
In Blitz, wins are worth one point and draws 0.5 points.
Following this tournament, the Sinquefield Cup will conclude the Grand Chess Tour for the year, with India’s D. Gukesh joining Praggnanandhaa in the final event.
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