Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2025: Praggnanandhaa takes centre-stage as one of the favourites; Carlsen remains out
Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa will be cynosure of all eyes as he takes on a strong field without Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the Rapid and blitz tournament, a part of the grand chess tour, that gets underway here on Saturday.
With compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram as company, Praggnanandhaa is one of the frontrunners for the title, as the absence of Carlsen after two winning triumphs has thrown the field wide open.
Alireza Firouzja, the Iranian-turned-French, starts as the hot bubble waiting to be busted, while his compatriot Maxime Vachier-Lagrave would like to live on the legacy built for the French players in the last decade.
While there are only two Indian contestants among the 10 players, it remains to be seen who will win the Grand Chess Tour this year — a series of events that award points based on each performance.
The total prize pool of the event is USD 1,75,000 with an added attraction of being part of the grand prize at the end of the season.
The absence of Carlsen stems from his own admission that the classical format no longer excites him.
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The world No. 1 since 2011, the Norwegian has shifted his focus to Chess960 — now rebranded as ‘Freestyle Chess’ — and has been enjoying remarkable success, winning the last two events he participated in over the past fortnight.
Praggnanandhaa will be the one to watch out for, given his accuracy in speed chess, which has earned him victories, including that over Carlsen on a few occasions.
The Indian had done a remarkable job winning the Tata Steel Masters earlier this year, beating world champion D. Gukesh, and fans will be looking for an encore from the Chennai magician.
For Chithambaram, his foray here happened largely because he did exceedingly well to win Prague Masters, which helped him bag a wild card spot.
Levon Aronian and Veselin Topalov are the two most experienced players in the circuit, but it seems unlikely they will pose a serious challenge to the young cavalry.
Duda Jan-Krzyfztof of Poland and Firouzja might also prove to be prime contenders.