R Praggnanandhaa Wins Superbet Classic, His First Grand Chess Tour Title
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa created history by winning his first-ever tournament on the Grand Chess Tour after beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the Superbet Chess Classic 2025, held in Romania.
In the final round, Praggnanandhaa played a safe draw against Armenian-American GM Levon Aronian, which ensured him a tie for first place.
At the same time, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave defeated GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Alireza Firouzja won against Bogdan-Daniel Deac, even after being in a worse position in a King’s Indian Defense game. Their wins created a three-way tie, as all three players finished with 5.5 points each in the classical format.
This led to a blitz playoff between the three grandmasters. The games were played with five minutes on the clock and a two-second increment after every move.
In the first blitz game, Praggnanandhaa had the black pieces against Firouzja and managed to hold a difficult position to a draw.
In the second game, Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave also drew their game.
In the final and deciding game, Praggnanandhaa defeated Vachier-Lagrave by breaking through his defense to win the playoff and claim the title.
He scored 1.5 points in the blitz, half a point more than Firouzja and one full point more than Vachier-Lagrave.
This victory is special for Praggnanandhaa as he made a strong comeback after last year’s disappointment when he lost all his playoff games in the same tournament.
With this win, Praggnanandhaa earns $77,667 and 10 Grand Chess Tour points.
The next event in the Grand Chess Tour 2025 will be the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz in Croatia, scheduled from July 1 to 6.