Indian GrandmasterR Praggnanandhaa battled to a hard-earned draw against Germany’s Vincent Keymer to stay in joint lead after the third round of the Super Chess Classic, one of the marquee events on the prestigious Grand Chess Tour.
Coming off an impressive win over Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov in the previous round, Praggnanandhaa moved to two points from three games and maintained his solid start to the tournament. The Indian prodigy now shares the top spot with France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Dutch Grandmasters Jorden van Foreest and Anish Giri, along with Keymer.
Keymer holds firm
Playing with the white pieces, Praggnanandhaa chose the Capablanca variation against the Nimzo-Indian Defence, but Keymer responded with precision and quickly neutralised White’s early initiative. The German willingly gave up a pawn in the opening to secure positional compensation before guiding the game into a rook-and-minor-piece endgame.
Although Praggnanandhaa entered the ending with an extra pawn, Keymer defended accurately and established a solid blockade that prevented the Indian from making meaningful progress. After 64 moves of careful manoeuvring, the players agreed to split the point in an evenly balanced position.
Giri secures first victory
Meanwhile, Anish Giri showcased his trademark resilience by defeating France’s Alireza Firouzja to record his first win of the tournament.
Firouzja opted for the King’s Indian Defence, but Giri gradually improved his position and capitalised after the Frenchman sacrificed a rook for a minor piece in an attempt to generate counterplay.
Also read: Playoff race: SRH, CSK eye crucial win
Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest also continued his strong form with a victory over Romania’s Bogdan-Daniel Deac while playing with the black pieces in another sharp King’s Indian encounter. The complicated middlegame eventually swung in Foreest’s favour as he navigated the tactical battle more effectively.
Other matches drawn
The remaining two games of the round were drawn. American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana shared the point with compatriot Wesley So, while Sindarov recovered from his previous-round defeat to hold Vachier-Lagrave to a draw. At the conclusion of the third round, five players remain tied for the lead in the 10-player field, underlining the highly competitive nature of the tournament so far.
Caruana and Wesley So sit on 1.5 points after drawing all three of their games, while Firouzja and Deac are currently at the bottom of the standings with half a point each. The Super Chess Classic is being played over nine rounds and features a total prize fund of USD 350,000, with USD 100,000 awarded to the eventual champion.
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