Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa will face Alireza Firouzja in the opening round of the Super Chess Classic, the first classical tournament of the year on the Grand Chess Tour calendar.
Following the withdrawal of reigning world champion D Gukesh from this year’s classical events, Praggnanandhaa remains the lone Indian participant in the prestigious 10-player round-robin competition.
The Indian youngster received a favourable draw and will play with the white pieces in five of the nine rounds, a potential advantage in a tightly contested field. The tournament carries a total prize purse of USD 350,000, along with an additional USD 125,000 in bonus rewards. The winner of the event will pocket USD 100,000.
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Praggnanandhaa heads into the event seeking a stronger performance after a disappointing campaign at the Candidates Tournament in April, which saw him slip to 16th position in the live world rankings.
Top seed Fabiano Caruana of the United States will begin his campaign against in-form Dutch Grandmaster Jorden van Foreest. Van Foreest recently grabbed headlines after defeating world number one Magnus Carlsen at the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament and has maintained impressive consistency in recent months. He is currently ranked 20th in the world.
After Gukesh opted out of the classical circuit, the vacant spot in the event was offered to Javokhir Sindarov shortly before the Candidates Tournament began. Sindarov subsequently produced a dominant performance at the Candidates, earning the right to challenge Gukesh for the world championship later this year.
The Uzbek sensation has emerged as one of the strongest players on the elite circuit, known for his mastery in highly complex positions. Sindarov had earlier won the World Cup in October last year, enjoyed a solid start to 2026 at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament Masters, and then captured the Candidates title with a record-breaking display. Sindarov is expected to attract major attention at the event and will begin his campaign against Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania.
Meanwhile, Anish Giri of the Netherlands will take on Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who boasts a strong record on the Grand Chess Tour.
German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer, another formidable contender, is scheduled to face Wesley So of the United States.
For Praggnanandhaa, the pairings appear favourable, and the key challenge will be whether he can rediscover his winning rhythm against elite opposition.
Besides Firouzja, the Indian will have white-piece games against Wesley So, Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave and Keymer. His highly anticipated clash with Sindarov is scheduled for the second round, where the Uzbek player will have the advantage of the white pieces.
Round 1 pairings
Praggnanandhaa vs Alireza Firouzja; Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Anish Giri; Deac Bogdan-Daniel vs Javokhir Sindarov; Wesley So vs Vincent Keymer; Jorden van Foreest vs Fabiano Caruana.
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