Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa suffered a fighting defeat against Germany’s Vincent Keymer in the third round of the Sinquefield Cup, leaving the Indian on 1.5 points in the Grand Chess Tour event here on Thursday.
Praggnanandhaa, who had been in impressive form recently, saw his chances slip after a blunder in the later stages of the game, with Keymer eventually securing victory by checkmate.
The result left Praggnanandhaa in joint fourth place alongside Keymer, Fabiano Caruana and Sam Sevian, with six rounds still remaining in the USD 475,000 tournament.
Praggnanandhaa’s Chances Slip
The Indian started well and the opening phase did not pose major problems. However, he eventually made a costly mistake that allowed Keymer to seize control.
The German capitalised on the opportunity and completed the victory with a checkmate, an unusual finish in a top-level Grandmaster encounter.
Keymer’s win also continued his progress over the past year as he establishes himself among the leading young players on the international circuit.
Wesley So Takes Sole Lead
Wesley So produced the biggest victory of the round, defeating home favourite Fabiano Caruana to move to the top of the standings.
The American, who represents the United States after previously playing for the Philippines, secured his second consecutive win to reach 2.5 points and become the tournament’s sole leader.
Armenian-born American Levon Aronian and France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are joint second on two points.
Gukesh’s World Championship Challenger Stays Mid-table
Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov, who is set to challenge India’s D Gukesh in the World Championship later this year, remained on one point after drawing with Vachier-Lagrave.
Anish Giri also suffered defeat, losing to Sam Sevian after a marathon encounter that lasted more than 100 moves.
Aronian drew with Jorden Van Foreest, while Vachier-Lagrave and Sindarov also shared the points.
With six rounds remaining in the nine-round event, Praggnanandhaa still has ample opportunity to recover and challenge for the top positions.
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