Superbet Rapid and Blitz: Praggnanandhaa finishes third

Slovenia's Vladimir Fedoseev emerged as the winner with a total score of 26.5. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, who came second ended on 21.5 points.

Praggnanandhaa finished third in the overall standings after suffering seven Blitz defeats, receiving a prize money of USD 25,000. Photo Credit | PTI

WARSAW: Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa secured third place at the Superbet Rapid and Blitz tournament, part of the prestigious Grand Chess Tour (GCT), while Slovenia's Vladimir Fedoseev emerged as the clear winner.

Fedoseev dominated the event with a total score of 26.5 out of a possible 36 points, finishing 5 points ahead of his closest rival, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, who ended on 21.5 points. Praggnanandhaa followed closely with 20.5 points, securing the third spot.

Fedoseev entered the final day with a comfortable lead and continued his winning streak in the blitz section, scoring an impressive 7.5 out of 9 games. His only loss in the entire tournament came against Polish GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda. With the win, Fedoseev took home the top prize of USD 40,000.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave earned USD 30,000 for second place, while Praggnanandhaa received USD 25,000.

Indian GM Aravindh Chithambaram, in his debut GCT appearance, tied for seventh place with Duda, scoring 17 points. Despite a slow start in the blitz section, Praggnanandhaa made a strong comeback, winning four of his last five games against Duda, Topalov, Aravindh, and Gavrilescu to finish the tournament on a high.

Levon Aronian of the United States finished fourth with 20 points, just ahead of Alireza Firouzja of France, who had 18.5. Romania’s Deac Bogdan-Daniel finished sixth with 18 points. Romanian David Gavrilescu and Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov finished ninth and tenth, respectively.

In the overall GCT standings, Vachier-Lagrave now leads, with Praggnanandhaa close behind. Fedoseev, playing as a wildcard, will need to wait for an official tour invite.

The Grand Chess Tour now moves to Bucharest, Romania, for its first classical tournament starting May 7. India’s world champion D Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa will represent the country, along with top players like Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Final Standings:

1. Vladimir Fedoseev (Slovenia) – 26.5 pts

2. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) – 21.5 pts

3. R Praggnanandhaa (India) – 20.5 pts

4. Levon Aronian (USA) – 20 pts

5. Alireza Firouzja (France) – 18.5 pts

6. Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Romania) – 18 pts
   7-8. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland), Aravindh Chithambaram (India) – 17 pts

7. David Gavrilescu (Romania) – 11 pts

8. Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) – 9 pts