New Delhi: Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France to claim the Superbet Chess Classic 2025, his first-ever tournament on the Grand Chess Tour, by showcasing nerves of steel in the thrilling tiebreaks. He had drawn with the Armenian-American GM Levon Aronian in the ninth and final round of the event but was assured of a first-place tie.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Iranian-French GM Alireza Firouzja also won their respective Round 9 clashes to match Praggnanandhaa on 5.5 points. This led to a tiebreaker between the troika, with five minutes and an increment of two seconds after every move. Moving into the tiebreakers, Praggnanandhaa played his first game with black pieces and had to work hard against Firouzja, but the result was a draw.
Congratulations to Praggnanandhaa on winning the #SuperbetChessClassicRomania!
After a thrilling three-way tie with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja, the title was decided in blitz tiebreaks. Pragg held his nerve and defeated MVL in the final game, securing a… pic.twitter.com/okoALoK2ln— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) May 16, 2025
Even the second game between Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave turned out to be a draw. However, in the final game of the event, Praggnanandhaa crashed through the defences of Vachier-Lagrave to clinch the top prize. In the blitz games, the 19-year-old Indian scored 1.5 points, which was half more than Firouzja and one more than the other Frenchman.
It was an emphatic comeback victory for Praggnanandhaa after his debacle last year when he had lost all his games in the play-offs. “I didn’t do so well last time. I guess getting to rest a few hours before the tiebreak certainly helps,” Praggnanandhaa said at the prize-presentation ceremony. After his ninth round classical game, which was an early draw with Aronian, the Indian had rested in his room for a few hours.
The awarding ceremony of the #SuperbetChessClassicRomania marked a memorable end to an exciting tournament!
Thanks to all the players for their incredible fighting spirit, to the organizers for a world-class event, and to the fans for their support throughout the tournament!… pic.twitter.com/9vZ5FWcmjq— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) May 16, 2025
Praggnanandhaa also expressed gratitude toward his second for the tournament, GM Vaibhav Suri, and his permanent trainer, Grandmaster RB Ramesh, on the occasion. The teenager bagged a cash award of USD 77,667 (around Rs. 66 lakh) for his winning efforts.
After a thrilling victory, Pragg was awarded the winner’s trophy and check by Augusta Dragic, President of the Superbet Foundation, and Michael Khodarkovsky, Executive Director of the Grand Chess Tour. Congratulations 🎊! pic.twitter.com/cwg5emG1Cc
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) May 16, 2025
Results (Round 9): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 4) lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 5.5) beat Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 3); Wesley So (4) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 4) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5).
Tiebreak result: Praggnanandhaa drew with Firouzja; Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Praggnanandhaa beat Vachier-Lagrave.
Check the final standings after 9 rounds of #SuperbetChessClassicRomania! pic.twitter.com/RhzZBi3NWx
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) May 16, 2025
R Praggnanandhaa ended up in a three-way tie at the end of Round 9 and the title was eventually decided in the blitz tiebreaks in which Pragg held his nerves and defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
