Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa achieved a convincing victory over Frenchman Alireza Firouzja, securing a joint lead after the seventh round of the Sinquefield Cup, part of the Grand Chess Tour.
With
his second win following several draws, Praggnanandhaa joined Fabiano Caruana of the United States at the top of the table with 4.5 points. On the same day, world champion D Gukesh was defeated by American Wesley So.
With Praggnanandhaa and Caruana leading, Levon Aronian and Wesley So share the third spot with four points each. Meanwhile, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Poland’s Duda Jan-Kryzsztof, and Samuel Sevian of the United States are tied for fifth place with a fifty per cent score.
Gukesh and Alireza are next in the standings with three points each, while Nodirbek Abdusattorov appears destined to finish last with only 1.5 points.
After a period with no decisive games in the last two rounds, the seventh round produced three decisive games out of a possible five in this 10-player tournament with a prize fund of 375000 USD. Along with Alireza and Gukesh, Nodirbek’s misfortunes continued as he lost his fourth game in the tournament to Duda.
Praggnanandhaa outplayed Alireza, who apparently overestimated his position after the opening.
The Rossolimo against the Sicilian is known to be a strong strategy, but Alireza made mistakes early in the middle game. Praggnanandhaa found the right moves at the right time, attacking the centre effectively with his pair of Bishops, which had a significant impact on white’s centre.
Alireza kept searching for tactical solutions that never materialized, eventually blundering in a lost endgame. The game concluded in just 27 moves.
Gukesh began with the Berlin defence as black, and Wesley chose to push for an advantage by avoiding the traditional endgame. The opening slightly favoured Wesley as Gukesh gave up the Bishop pair, leading to a dynamic balance in the early middle game.
Gukesh lost a pawn while attempting counter play, and Wesley was relentless, launching an attack on the king side. Gukesh lost his queen for two minor pieces, and the game soon ended.
Round 7 Results
Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 3) lost to R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 4.5); Duda Jan-Krzysztof (Pol, 3.5) beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 1.5); Wesley So (Usa, 4) beat D Gukesh (Ind, 3); Fabiano Caruana (USA, 4.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 3.5) drew with Samuel Sevian (USA, 3.5).
With PTI Inputs
