India’s Grandmasters D Gukesh and R Praggnanadhaa draw their eighth game at Sinquefield Cup
India’s young Grandmasters D Gukesh and R Praggnanadhaa continued their impressive performance at the Sinquefield Cup, playing out their eighth draw in as many games. The tournament, which is a part of the Grand Chess Tour, saw all games ending in draws in the eighth round.
World Championship challenger Gukesh signed peace with Anish Giri of Holland in just 23 moves, while Praggnanadhaa also drew with local favourite Fabiano Caruana in 28 moves. With these results, Alireza Firouzja of France secured the Grand Chess Tour title with one round to spare, earning a USD 100,000 bonus for his stellar performance throughout the tournament.
In the longest game of the round, Firouzja played against Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, which also ended in a draw after 80 moves. Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan split the point with Ding Liren of China, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France drew with Wesley So of the United States in the other games of the day.
Alireza Firouzja now has an unassailable lead with 5.5 points out of eight games, while Caruana is the only player who can catch up to him on the points table. Even if Alireza loses his final bout against Praggnanandhaa, he will still win the tour for the first time due to his superior overall points tally.
“It’s very tough to win a tour. Any tour is tough to win, but this is the strongest tour in the world. Very happy, but it’s very tiring and feeling exhausted but, I’m very happy,” noted Alireza.
The third place is currently shared by five players on four points each, including Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Vachier-Lagrave, So, and Abdusattorov. Nepomniachtchi and Liren follow closely behind on 3.5 points, with Anish Giri at the last spot.
Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa showcased their skills in the eighth round, with Gukesh securing a draw with Giri through repetition of moves and Praggnanandhaa drawing with Caruana in a similar fashion.
The Sinquefield Cup continues to be an exciting and closely contested tournament, with the final round set to determine the final standings and prize winners.