Grand Chess Tour, Poland Rapid: Chithambaram and Praggnanandhaa finish strong on third day

Aravindh Chithambaram and R. Praggnanandhaa produced strong performances on the third day of the ongoing Grand Chess Tour: Superbet Rapid & Blitz tournament in Poland.

The latter, in particular, continued his fine form from the second day, winning two games against Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Alireza Firouzja in the seventh and ninth rounds today. 

Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, recovered from a poor second day to register two wins as well, against David Gavrilescu and Duda in successive games.

The two Indians now occupy second and fourth places in the standings, led by Vladimir Fedoseev, who has remained unbeaten so far, despite having only two victories to his name. His last six games have all ended in draws.

In contrast, Aravinth has recorded four victories, but his campaign has been marred by two losses. Veselin Topalov sits at the bottom with a dismal five points, having suffered six defeats so far. With this, the Rapid rounds are concluded, and the Blitz games will commence on April 29.

Chithambaram and Praggnanandhaa are the frontrunners for the title, with Magnus Carlsen’s absence leaving the field wide open. The total prize pool of the event is USD 175,000, with the added incentive of contributing towards the grand prize at the end of the season.

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Praggnanandhaa will be the one to watch, given his precision in speed chess, which has earned him victories, including those over Carlsen on several occasions.

The Indian had performed outstandingly to win the Tata Steel Masters earlier this year, beating world champion D. Gukesh, and fans will be hoping for an encore from the Chennai magician.

For Chithambaram, his entry here came largely thanks to his superb performance in winning the Prague Masters, which helped him secure a wildcard spot.