Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa secured a draw against top seed Fabiano Caruana in the second game of the Grand Chess Tour final in St. Louis, USA, despite missing a significant opportunity to level the scores after a strong performance.
Key Points
- Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa drew his second game against Fabiano Caruana in the Grand Chess Tour final.
- Praggnanandhaa had a winning position but slipped on the 55th turn, allowing Caruana to secure a draw.
- The scoreline now stands at 3-9 in favour of Caruana after two Classical games.
- Praggnanandhaa still has a chance for a comeback in the upcoming rapid and blitz games.
- Wesley So and Vincent Keymer also drew their second game in the fight for third place.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa missed out on a great opportunity to level scores, signing peace with Fabiano Caruana of United States in the second game of the grand finale of Grand Chess Tour, in St. Louis, USA. After nearly outplaying the top seed, the Indian lost his way towards the end and had to settle for a draw from what looked like a dominating performance. He had lost the game to pre-tournament favourite in the first game of the finale. The scoreline now reads 3-9 for Pragg and still not all is over for him if he can make a comeback in the rapid and blitz games that follow.
Tournament Standings and Future Games
In the fight for third place, Wesley So drew with Vincent Keymer and the scores were tied with six points apiece for both participants. The third-place finisher will get direct entry in the next year's tour besides the top two. After doing everything right from an Italian opening, Pragg slipped on the 55th turn when he just had a position that would have led to equal points. Once he missed, Caruana was spot on to find the balance he always wanted.
Format and Results
After two Classical games, now two Rapid games worth four points each will be played followed by four Blitz games worth two points each. Results: R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 3) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 9), Wesley So (Usa, 6) drew with Vincent Keymer (Ger, 6).
