Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu completed the rapid section of the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz in first place, finishing the opening three days with 12 points. Despite losing to Jorden van Foreest in the ninth and final rapid round, he retained a one-point advantage over Javokhir Sindarov. Wesley So is a further point behind.
The Indian grandmaster produced the strongest performance of the rapid phase, recording four wins, four draws and one defeat. His results also lifted him, for the first time in his career, into the top ten of the live rapid world rankings.
The scoring system will change for the blitz section, a double round-robin where victories are worth one point rather than two.
Two players registered their first wins of the tournament in round seven. Fabiano Caruana defeated Awonder Liang after focusing his play on the vulnerable e5-pawn. The result brought the world number-two back to an even score.
Vincent Keymer also broke his sequence of six consecutive draws by beating Van Foreest. Their game reached an endgame that was decided by a blunder from the Dutch grandmaster.
Keymer's victory temporarily moved him to within two points of the leader, although both he and Caruana were defeated in the following round.
Vincent Keymer | Photo: Crystal Fuller
Round eight produced three decisive games. Pragg overcame Keymer in a complicated battle involving connected passed pawns for both sides.
Although the tournament leader held an extra exchange, the position became increasingly unclear, and Keymer had defensive opportunities before losing the thread.
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Crystal Fuller
Sindarov remained close to the lead by defeating Liang. The Uzbek grandmaster exploited a collection of isolated pawns after Black weakened his structure on the kingside. Liang later gave up his h-pawn in an attempt to reduce the pressure, but his remaining pawns continued to provide clear targets.
So also remained close to the leader with a victory over Caruana.
Javokhir Sindarov | Photo: Crystal Fuller
Only one game was decisive in round nine. Van Foreest defeated the tournament leader with a prepared idea in the French Defence, handing Pragg his first loss of the tournament.
The Dutchman had also beaten So earlier in the rapid section, although he still finished well behind the leading group.
Jorden van Foreest | Photo: Crystal Fuller
Caruana missed a strong chance to defeat Anish Giri in the final round and had to settle for a draw. Giri and Leinier Dominguez completed all nine rapid games without a decisive result, each recording nine draws.
Pragg therefore enters the blitz portion with a narrow lead, while Sindarov and So remain within immediate reach. With 18 blitz rounds still to be played and each result carrying less weight than in the rapid section, the gaps at the top remain manageable.
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