Pragg's second major victory in 2025

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, aged 19, added yet another remarkable achievement to his growing list of accolades by claiming his first-ever Grand Chess Tour victory at the Superbet Chess Classic. The Indian prodigy tied for first place with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja, and then outscored his French rivals in blitz playoffs to clinch the title.

Last year, Pragg had also tied for first place in Bucharest, but it was Fabiano Caruana who came out on top in the playoffs. This time, the Chennai native emerged victorious, just over three months after winning the Tata Steel Masters, the traditional event held in Wijk aan Zee often referred to as the Wimbledon of chess.

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Pragg, who has already participated in a Candidates Tournament, is one of three Indian players under 21 in the world top 10, alongside Arjun Erigaisi and, of course, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. The newly crowned champion collected 10 GCT points, the same as MVL and Firouzja, but also secured a $10,000 bonus for winning the playoff. After two GCT events, MVL leads the overall standings, with Pragg trailing by just two points in second place.

Following his crucial win over Wesley So in round eight, Pragg needed only a draw to secure at least a tie for first place - and he did so by keeping the game under control in a relatively quiet encounter against Levon Aronian. However, three players entered the round half a point behind him, meaning that a win by any of them would force a playoff. Caruana, playing black against Gukesh, could not create winning chances and the game ended in a 45-move draw. In contrast, the games involving Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave were anything but quiet, as both contenders fought fiercely for the full point.

Firouzja found himself in a tense, fluctuating battle against Bogdan-Daniel Deac. Rejecting variations that would have led to a draw, Firouzja got into trouble in a complex middlegame. Despite obtaining a promising position with queens still on the board, Deac faltered after playing pressured by the clock for quite a while - Firouzja was also in time trouble, and also made a number of mistakes.

On move 52, instead of the necessary 52.Qd3 to keep drawing chances alive, the Romanian representative faltered with 52.Rh3

This mistake allowed Firouzja to respond with 52...Qg5+ 53.Rg3 Qxe3, and White resigned after trading queens with 54.Qxe3 dxe3

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The pawn is unstoppable.

Alireza Firouzja scored while in a must-win situation | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Meanwhile, Vachier-Lagrave faced Jan-Krzysztof Duda in a game that also proved decisive. Duda's critical mistake occurred on move 34 when he played 34...Re4, missing the stronger 34...Qe4, which would have kept White's king restricted and prevented MVL from playing 35.Kg2, a preparatory move that enabled White's rook on c1 to join the attack on the h-file.

Vachier-Lagrave capitalised on this oversight, converting his advantage into a crucial win, thus securing his spot in the playoff as well.

Thanks to his performance in Bucharest, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave reentered the world top 10 | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Final standings

The playoffs

Following the three-way tie for first place, a single round-robin mini-tournament was held to determine the winner of the event. The time control was five minutes for the entire game plus two-second increments, with Armageddon games scheduled in case of another tie.

The first game of the playoff saw Firouzja and Praggentering a complex Giuoco Piano structure. Despite the blitz time control, both players handled the intricacies of the position adeptly, leading to a 36-move draw. There were no significant errors (given the blitz format), with each player managing to maintain the balance throughout the encounter.

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The second encounter was an all-French clash between Vachier-Lagrave, playing white, and Firouzja. Firouzja opted for the Caro-Kann Defence, allowing MVL to seize some space in the middlegame. Nevertheless, Firouzja defended accurately, steering the game toward a series of exchanges that eventually simplified to a drawn endgame after 34 moves.

The two highest-rated players representing France | Photo: Lennart Ootes

In the decisive game of the playoff, Pragg had the white pieces against MVL. The Indian prodigy sacrificed a pawn early in a theoretical line, seeking active play in return. MVL displayed strong positional understanding, neutralising most of Pragg's threats.

The game progressed to an endgame with a queen and a rook per side, where Pragg's king was relatively safer - a crucial factor in such positions.

With both players nearing the 30-second mark, MVL made an impractical decision on move 34 by choosing 34...Rc2 instead of the more prudent 34...Ra1, which according to commentator Peter Svidler would likely have led to a draw.

The game continued with 35.Rd4 h5 36.Kg2 a5 37.Rf4, and MVL made what turned out to be the last blunder of the tournament with 37...Qc3, overlooking 38.Qa7

There is no satisfactory way to defend the f7-pawn. Recognising his mistake, MVL immediately resigned, handing Pragg overall tournament victory.

2025 Tata Steel Masters and Superbet Chess Classic champion Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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Pragg is awarded the winner's trophy and check by Michael Khodarkovsky, Executive Director of the Grand Chess Tour, and Augusta Dragic, President of the Superbet Foundation | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Plenty of chess fans in Bucharest! | Photo: Lennart Ootes

All games - Playoffs

All games - Classical

Links

• Grand Chess Tour website
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