Pragg secures title with a round to spare

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu won the 2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz on Thursday, securing his first title in the event after leading the standings throughout all five days. The Indian grandmaster clinched first place with a round to spare and eventually finished 1½ points ahead of Javokhir Sindarov.

Pragg earned $50,000 and 13 Grand Chess Tour points for winning outright, avoiding a playoff. His victory moved him into second place in the overall GCT standings behind Fabiano Caruana. Wesley So and Vincent Keymer currently occupy the other two qualifying positions for the season-ending Grand Chess Tour Finals, with Sindarov close behind in fifth.

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Pragg's Saint Louis victory continued an improvement in results after a difficult start to the year. He finished 11^th at the Tata Steel Masters with 5½/13 and tied for 6^th at the Candidates Tournament with 6/14. His performances improved during the Grand Chess Tour, including a share of 3^rd place at the rapid and blitz event in Zagreb. His biggest success this year came in Oslo, as he won the Norway Chess super-tournament, which featured an elite field including Magnus Carlsen.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu interviewed by Maurice Ashley | Photo: Lennart Ootes

A worthy champion! | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The final day did not begin smoothly for the leader. Pragg drew with Keymer in round 10 before losing to Awonder Liang in round 11. At the same time, Sindarov drew Levon Aronian and then defeated Jorden van Foreest after the Dutchman dropped a piece. Those results reduced Pragg's advantage to only ½ point.

Sindarov kept up the pressure in round 12 by beating Keymer for his second consecutive victory. Pragg responded immediately, defeating Anish Giri to remain narrowly in front. Further back, So and Aronian were level on 17 points after the latter collected successive victories over Keymer and Liang.

The gap widened again in round 13, when Caruana defeated Sindarov with the help of a passed a-pawn.

At the end of the event, Sindarov noted that playing 16...Qb6 here, inviting a queen trade, was a crucial mistake, as he was unable to foresee that White's structural advantage on the queenside would be so powerful.

After 29.a5, Sindarov faltered again with 29...Re3+?!, when simply trading on a5 gave him better drawing chances in the long run. Caruana went on to smoothly convert his advantage.

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Fabiano Caruana scored 17 points and tied for fifth place - still, he continues to lead the overall standings of the Grand Chess Tour | Photo: Austin Fuller

Pragg, meanwhile, faced So in a game that could have significantly altered the standings. So reached a favourable position but, with little time remaining, opted for a threefold repetition rather than continuing the game.

Here So, with less than thirty seconds on the clock, went for a repetition with 39.Re2 Qd6 40.Re3 Qc7, etcetera. Engines show that White would get a clear advantage with 39.Re8, as the queen endgame with the advanced passer on the d-file is clearly favourable for him.

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Wesley So, here following the battle between Jorden van Foreest and Javokhir Sindarov, finished in sole third place | Photo: Austin Fuller

The eventual champion then increased his lead to 1½ points by defeating Van Foreest in round 14. A tactical oversight cost the Dutchman a pawn, and the tournament leader converted the resulting advantage. Pragg and Sindarov both drew in the following round, against Caruana and Leinier Dominguez, respectively.

So remained in contention for a high finish by beating Aronian and Keymer in consecutive rounds, although those proved to be his final victories of the tournament. He eventually took third place behind Sindarov.

Both leading players won again in round 16. Pragg prevailed on time against Dominguez in an otherwise level knight ending, while Sindarov defeated Giri in an opposite-coloured bishop ending. The results set up a direct meeting between the top two in the penultimate round, with Pragg needing only a draw to secure the title.

Sindarov had an extra pawn in the rook-and-knight ending that appeared on the board.

Pragg defended successfully and secured the half-point he required. The draw confirmed his tournament victory with one round to spare.

The crucial penultimate-round battle between Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Javokhir Sindarov | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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It was a great performance by Javokhir Sindarov, who remains with chances of reaching the GCT Finals | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The final round therefore had no effect on first place. Pragg drew with Aronian, while Sindarov shared the point with So.

Pragg completed the last nine blitz rounds with three wins, five draws and one defeat. Across the tournament, Pragg produced the highest score separately in both the rapid and blitz sections. He finished the event ranked 10^th in the live rapid ratings and 13^th in blitz, while he currently holds the 12^th spot in classical, showing great consistency across all three formats.

Final standings

Overall standings - Grand Chess Tour

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* Alireza Firouzja withdrew from the tour due to a schedule clash

Final standings - Blitz

All games - Blitz

Final standings - Rapid

Win = 2 pts., Draw = 1 pt.

All games - Rapid

Links

• Official website
• Tour's overall standings