Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa bounced back from his previous loss to crush Dutchman Jorden Van Foreest in the fourth round for a share of the second spot at the Sinquefield Cup here.
The victory helped Praggnanandhaa reach 2.5 points from four games in the 10-player-nine-round event.
Having lost the previous round against Vincent Keymer of Germany, this comeback is surely going to boost his chances for the podium to qualify for the finale of the Grand Chess tour. Incidentally, this was the lone decisive game of the day as the remaining four ended in draws leaving Wesley So of United States still in lead on three points after his draw with compatriot Levon Aronian. In the other all-American clash, Fabiano Caruana was held to a draw by Sevian Samuel while Anish Giri drew with world championship contender Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan.
In the other game of the day, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave signed peace with Vincent Keymer of Germany leaving the field wide open in this USD 4,75,000 prize money tournament.
Praggnanandhaa yet again reclaimed the tag of hero-of-the-day with his simple yet effective tactical display right from the word go. It was a King pawn game that the Indian decided to keep close and his strike came very early as by move 12 itself, he was on the path to victory.
Van Foreest did not have a clue as he lost his queen for a rook and a minor piece. As has been the case study before, when it comes to technique there are very few who can match Praggnanandhaa and he did not disappoint his fans.
With five rounds still to be played and Wesley So in command, Praggnanandhaa, Vachier-Lagrave and Aronian are in close pursuit of the leader half a point behind while the wolf-pack having Caruana, Keymer and Samules is not far away on two points each.
Anish Giri and Sindarov share the eighth spot with 1.5 points in their kitty while Van Foreest is still in the cellar with just a half point thus far.
Results round 4:
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 2.5) drew with Vincent Keymer (Ger, 2) R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 2.5) beat Jorden Van Foreest (Ned, 0.5); Anish Giri (Ned, 1.5) drew with Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 1.5); Savian Samuels (USA, 2) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2); Levon Aronian (USA, 2.5) drew with Wesley So (USA, 3). PTI
