Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa played out a hard-fought draw against Germany’s Vincent Keymer in the third round of the Super Chess Classic Romania, maintaining his position among the joint leaders of the prestigious tournament in Bucharest.
Playing with the white pieces, Praggnanandhaa opted for the Capablanca variation against Keymer’s Nimzo-Indian Defence. The German Grandmaster sacrificed a pawn early in the opening to neutralise White’s initiative and gradually steered the game into an equal middle-game position.
Despite holding an extra pawn in the later stages, Praggnanandhaa could not convert the advantage as Keymer defended accurately in a rook-and-minor-piece endgame. After 64 moves of intense play, the players agreed to a draw.
With the result, Praggnanandhaa remained tied at the top of the standings alongside Keymer and France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after three rounds of the nine-player tournament. The Indian star had earlier defeated Javokhir Sindarov in the second round after opening his campaign with a draw against Alireza Firouzja.
Elsewhere in the round, Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri registered his first victory of the tournament after defeating Firouzja in a complex tactical battle. Jorden van Foreest also secured a crucial win over Romanian player Bogdan-Daniel Deac, while Fabiano Caruana drew with Wesley So and Sindarov shared points with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
The Super Chess Classic Romania is part of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour and features several of the world’s top-ranked players competing for a prize pool of USD 350,000.
Praggnanandhaa has been in impressive form over the past year and remains one of India’s strongest medal hopes in elite international chess competitions.
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