Praggnanandhaa Secures Draw Against Wesley So in Super Chess Classic Fifth Round
R Praggnanandhaa Holds Steady in Super Chess Classic Amid All-Draw Day
In a gripping fifth round of the Super Chess Classic, Indian chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa secured his fourth draw of the tournament, sharing the spoils with American grandmaster Wesley So. The match, characterized by a cautious opening and strategic exchanges, concluded peacefully after 45 moves, leaving Praggnanandhaa tied for second place alongside Dutch grandmasters Anish Giri and Jorden van Foreest.
The day saw all matches end in draws, allowing Germany’s Vincent Keymer to maintain his sole lead in the standings with a total of 3.5 points. Praggnanandhaa, with his solid performance, remains a formidable contender as he sits at 3 points, alongside Giri and van Foreest.
French grandmasters Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So are jointly positioned in fifth place with 2.5 points each, while American star Fabiano Caruana and Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov trail closely behind at 2 points. Notably, Sindarov still has a game in hand, adding an element of suspense to the standings. Romania’s Bogdan-Daniel Deac occupies ninth place with 1.5 points, while France’s Alireza Firouzja lingers at the bottom with just one point.
In the remaining fifth-round encounters, Keymer held Giri to a draw with the black pieces, while Vachier-Lagrave and van Foreest also shared the points. Sindarov managed to draw against Firouzja, and Deac held Caruana to a stalemate.
Praggnanandhaa, playing black, opted for the Berlin Defence against So, who took a cautious approach in the opening stages. The middlegame saw several minor pieces exchanged before So gradually applied pressure on the kingside. However, the young Indian star defended resourcefully, generating enough counterplay to neutralize So’s threats and ultimately leading to a repetition of moves.
In a noteworthy return, Firouzja played against Sindarov after missing the previous round due to an ankle injury sustained earlier in the tournament. He sought permission to compete from his hotel room, and the match concluded in a draw.
Keymer, employing the Berlin Defence against Giri, faced minimal challenges, leading to a swift draw after just 32 moves in a rook-and-minor-piece endgame.
As the tournament takes a breather on Tuesday, players will regroup for the final four rounds of the USD 350,000 event on Wednesday, with all eyes on the leaderboard as the competition intensifies.