Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa delivered a stunning performance, defeating top seed Vincent Keymer in an aggressive masterclass at the Zagreb leg of the Grand Chess Tour, setting a strong pace for the tournament.
Key Points
- Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated top seed Vincent Keymer with an aggressive, 26-move masterclass in the Zagreb Grand Chess Tour.
- Praggnanandhaa followed his initial win with a draw against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, placing him among the top contenders.
- World Champion D Gukesh had a mixed start, losing to Vachier-Lagrave but recovering with a win against Ivan Saric.
- Firouzja Alireza of France leads the tournament with four points after winning his first two rapid rounds.
- Praggnanandhaa, Vachier-Lagrave, and Anish Giri are closely behind the leader with three points each.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa produced an aggressive game to defeat top seed Vincent Keymer of Germany, starting his campaign on a positive note in the Zagreb leg of the Grand Chess Tour in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday.
After winning the Norway chess classic, Praggnanandhaa went on an attacking spree against Keymer in what will be hailed as a masterclass in the future.
The fury of white pieces was there for everyone to see as the Indian launched his forces right at the opponent's king and bagged two points in a mere 26 moves.
Praggnanandhaa's Strong Start
In the second round of the day, he drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, who had started the event with a finely crafted victory over World champion D Gukesh.
Gukesh's Performance and Tournament Standings
For Gukesh, the rhythm is still missing, possibly because the youngest ever world champion is already thinking about his forthcoming world championship match with Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan.
The loss to Vachier-Lagreve did not mean much as Gukesh quickly returned to his winning ways at the expense of Ivan Saric of Croatia.
While he was outplayed in the opener, Gukesh showcased his skills while defending an attack against his king in the second round.
Firouzja Alireza of France emerged as the sole leader of the tournament, winning the first two rounds. After beating Saric in the first round Alireza, playing with black, scored a win over Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania.
With each victory in rapid worth two points, Firouzja emerged as the sole leader on four points and he is now followed by Praggnanandhaa, Vachier-Lagrave and Anish Giri of Holland who all have three points from their two games.
