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The third round of the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest maintained the tournament's dynamic pace, with two decisive results among direct title contenders.
Fabiano Caruana and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu emerged as the day's winners, defeating Alireza Firouzja and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, respectively. Their victories left them tied for the lead with 2/3 points each. Meanwhile, two of the three drawn games also featured significant drama and missed opportunities, highlighting the fighting nature of this year's edition, which has already seen 6 decisive games in three rounds - last year, 7 out of 45 games ended decisively throughout the event.
Round 3 results
The clash between Firouzja and Caruana was particularly anticipated, as it brought together the last two Grand Chess Tour champions - Firouzja won the series in 2022 and 2024, while Caruana claimed the title in 2023. The US grandmaster, who is also the defending champion in Bucharest, faced an aggressive approach from Firouzja, who came well-prepared with the white pieces. Out of a Queen's Gambit Declined, the French representative pushed g2-g4 early, setting the stage for a sharp battle.
Both players castled queenside, and once the queens left the board, Caruana's position proved more promising. His superior pawn structure and more active rook provided the foundation for a lengthy but eventually successful conversion. The game was not without errors, but Caruana's calculation skills allowed him to maintain control in the endgame. Firouzja resisted stubbornly, yet the structural weaknesses in his camp proved too much to handle. After 73 moves, Caruana secured the full point against the player who entered the round as sole leader.
Fabiano Caruana defeated Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa needed 61 moves to defeat Abdusattorov in what is becoming a compelling rivalry between two elite young talents. Pragg gave up a pawn in a queenless middlegame, gaining compensation through the bishop pair and a well-positioned pawn on h6 that restricted the black king. The Indian grandmaster's 24.e4 initiated a sequence of exchanges that left him with a lasting positional advantage.
Abdusattorov responded with 24...Bxg5, a move that allowed White to get lasting positional pressure. The stronger continuation was 24...Bg4, followed by 25.f3 Rc2 26.Bxe5 Rxe2, a line that would not have gained a pawn but would have improved Black's piece coordination.
Instead, after 24...Bxg5 25.Bxg5 Bxe4 26.Bf6 Nc6, Praggnanandhaa maintained a stable edge, repeatedly exploiting the confined nature of the black king.
The patient build-up eventually paid off, and Abdusattorov resigned on move 61.
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Two of the three draws of the day also featured intense battles. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian contested a sharp encounter in the Grünfeld Defence, MVL's signature opening. The Frenchman held a clear middlegame advantage but saw his plans disrupted by Aronian's well-timed 31.Rxd4 exchange sacrifice.
The resourceful idea neutralised White's initiative and forced the game into a drawn endgame.
In the game between Gukesh Dommaraju and Bogdan-Daniel Deac, the reigning world champion gained an edge out of the opening but struggled in time trouble. Deac capitalised on Gukesh's inaccuracies and had a tangible advantage but was unable to convert. The game extended to 63 moves before the players agreed to a draw, a missed opportunity for the Romanian wildcard.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Gukesh Dommaraju surrounded by fans in Bucharest | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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