R Praggnanandhaa endured a difficult start to the blitz section of the Croatia leg of the Grand Chess Tour, slipping to fourth place as France’s Alireza Firouzja surged into a commanding lead after the penultimate day in Zagreb.
Firouzja produced a sensational display, scoring eight points from a possible nine in the opening blitz rounds to move to 20 points overall. The French Grandmaster now holds a three-point advantage over Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov and fellow Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who are tied for second on 17 points.
Praggnanandhaa loses momentum
After sharing the lead at the end of the rapid section, Praggnanandhaa struggled to maintain his form in blitz.
The Indian began the day with a win over Germany’s Vincent Keymer before drawing with Anish Giri. However, four successive defeats derailed his campaign, leaving him with 3.5 points from the opening nine blitz rounds and 15.5 points overall.
Gukesh also endures difficult day
World champion D Gukesh also found the faster format challenging.
The Indian Grandmaster suffered four defeats during the day and ended the session with 13.5 points, placing fifth in the standings with nine blitz rounds still to be played.
Firouzja closes in on title
Firouzja’s dominant run has left much of the field trailing by a significant margin, with Germany’s Vincent Keymer in sixth on 13 points, followed by Anish Giri on 12.5 and Romania’s Bogdan-Daniel Deac on 11.5.
Dutch Grandmaster Jorden van Foreest occupies ninth place with 9.5 points, while Croatia’s Ivan Saric remains last on five points.
With one day of blitz action remaining, Firouzja appears firmly in control of the tournament, although Praggnanandhaa still has an opportunity to fight for a podium finish if he rediscovers his form.
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