Superbet Chess Classic: Pragg beats So with black, becomes sole leader

Pragg and Gukesh score with black

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu emerged as the sole leader heading into the final round of the Superbet Chess Classic after defeating Wesley So with the black pieces in a well-handled Benko Gambit. The Indian grandmaster's win was one of two decisive results in the penultimate, as world champion Gukesh Dommaraju claimed his first victory of the event by taking down Levon Aronian.

Pragg now has 5½ points, half a point ahead of former co-leaders Alireza Firouzja, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Caruana. With the final round set for Friday, Pragg will play white against Aronian, where a draw would secure him at least a share of first place and force a playoff if required. Earlier this year, Pragg won a playoff to clinch the Tata Steel Masters, defeating Gukesh. Meanwhile, MVL will play white against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who is at the bottom of the standings, Caruana will play black against Gukesh, and Firouzja will face Bogdan-Daniel Deac, also with the black pieces.

The last round will begin one hour earlier than usual.

Round 8 results

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Alireza Firouzja got a small edge against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who managed to hold the draw following his round-seven victory over Jan-Krzysztof Duda | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Pragg's victory against So was achieved in a Benko Gambit, a bold choice against one of the circuit's most solid players. Despite demonstrating good opening preparation, So struggled to keep the position under control as Pragg navigated his way to a heavy-piece endgame with a slight but persistent edge. Pragg's technique was precise, gradually increasing his advantage and converting his positional plus into a 38-move victory (see analysis of the game below).

Gukesh's win against Aronian, also with black, arose from Aronian's questionable 16.f4, a risky pawn push in a queenless, rather quiet position.

Gukesh accepted the pawn and demonstrated strong endgame technique, steadily improving his pieces while pushing Aronian into a passive position. The game eventually transitioned to a rook endgame with 4 pawns against 3, in which Gukesh's more active king proved decisive.

From this point on, Gukesh converted his material advantage smoothly.

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Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Out of the three drawn games, the clash between Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave was the most consequential in terms of the standings. Playing white against a fellow co-leader, Caruana obtained a clear positional edge but missed a critical opportunity on move 21, when 21.Bxc5 was preferable to the chosen 21.Rdh1

MVL replied with the precise 21...Kf7, preparing to contest the h-file with his rooks and maintaining his defensive setup. From there, Vachier-Lagrave defended accurately, securing the draw and preserving his chances of challenging for the title in the final round.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave looking satisfied with the draw he achieved against one of the most dangerous players in the field | Photo: Lennart Ootes

So 0-1 Praggnanandhaa

So, Wesley2748

0–1

Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu2758

GCT Superbet Classic Romania 2025 Bucharest15.05.2025[CC]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.e3 axb5 6.Bxb5 Qa5+ 7.Nc3 Bb7 8.Bd2 Qb6 9.Nf3 Nxd5 10.a4 e6 11.e4

After Pragg demonstrated ambition by entering the Benko Gambit - a system seldom seen among top GMs - it is So who gives up a pawn with this variation. He had also played this move in 2023, though against a much lower-rated opponent in a blitz game. The main line here goes 11.0-0 Be7 12.e4 Nxc3 13.Bxc3 0-0 14.Ne5 and now Black can play either ...d7-d6 or ...d7-d5. 11...Nxc3 12.Bxc3 Bxe4 13.Ne5 Qb7 Pragg spent over 28 minutes before playing this novelty. Engines like this move. 14.Qh5 Bg6 15.Nxg6 Qe4+ One of the points behind Black's 13...Qb7. If not for this recourse, Black cannot enter this variation. 16.Kf1 fxg6 17.Qh3 Qf5 Not the most accurate, as shown by the engines. However, So did not find the best response. Though Pragg probably did not like 17...Nc6 18.Re1 Qd5 19.Qg4 and Black needed to figure out beforehand that Be7 20.Bxg7 Rg8 is playable. 18.Qg3 Stronger is 18.Qe3 and e.g. c4 19.Re1 Nc6 when engines show 20.g4 since after Qxg4 21.Rg1 White is clearly for choice with his big initiative. 18...Nc6 19.Qc7 Qd5 20.Bxc6 dxc6 21.h4

Preparing to develop the rook via h3. This is a double-edged position, in which White is a pawn up but Black's bishop might become more active than its counterpart later on. 21...Be7 22.Rh3 Not 22.Bxg7 due to Rxa4 and 23.Rxa4 fails to White must play 23.Re1 Rg8 24.Bc3 but Black is now for choice. 23...Qd1# 22...Rf8 23.Qe5 Bf6 24.Qe2 Bd4 25.Bxd4 White's best choice here - though one of Black's pair of doubled pawns gets "corrected". cxd4 26.h5 Better is 26.a5 and e.g. Rf7 27.a6 e5 with a sharp battle. 26...Rf6 27.Kg1 Kf7 28.hxg6+ Rxg6 29.g3

A major mistake by So, who already had less than 6 minutes on the clock. The rook on h3 is now out of play - helping to deal with Black's passer on the d-file is much more important than attacking the h-pawn. 29.Rf3+ Kg8 and e.g. 30.b4 is a much better try. 29...d3 30.Qd2 Rg4 31.a5 Re4 Black simply gives up his h-pawn (he was a pawn up, after all) to activate his rook decisively. 32.Rxh7 Kg8 33.Rh4 Re2 34.Qc3 d2 35.Rd1 Rf8 36.Rh2 This rook has failed to find activity once So faltered with g2-g3. Qe4 37.Rf1 Rf3 38.Qc5 Re1

Impressive technique by Pragg! 0–1

The Benko Gambit Explained

In this DVD, Erwin l'Ami guides you through the fascinating Benko Gambit. As early as move three Black starts a fight for the initiative, a strategy that has proved to be successful in countless amateur and master level games.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu fully engaged in his task | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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Links

• Grand Chess Tour website
• Vladimir Fedoseev convincingly wins Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland