Bucharest (Romania), May 12 – Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa finds himself in a three-way tie at the top after five rounds of the Superbet Classic, part of the prestigious Grand Chess Tour. Heading into the sixth round on Tuesday, he will play black against Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda.
Praggnanandhaa has secured three points so far, thanks to a crucial victory over Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round three, complemented by four draws. Sharing the top spot with him are Fabiano Caruana of the United States and France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, both also on three points with identical scorecards of one win and four draws.
Gukesh Struggles to Find Footing
India’s D Gukesh, the youngest-ever world champion, is still searching for his first win in the tournament. He has managed four draws and suffered one loss in his five games, placing him in the bottom tier of the leaderboard. However, with a rest day on Monday, Gukesh may use the break to reset and aim for a stronger showing in the second half of the round-robin event.Tournament Standings and Upcoming Pairings
Trailing just behind the leaders are American duo Levon Aronian and Wesley So, Romanian GM Deac Bogdan Daniel, and French-Iranian GM Alireza Firouzja, each with 2.5 points. The bottom positions are currently held by Abdusattorov, Duda, and Gukesh, all with two points apiece.With a substantial prize fund of USD 350,000 and USD 100,000 reserved for the champion, the competition remains fierce. Praggnanandhaa's position becomes especially significant as he has two white pieces in the final three rounds—against Firouzja, Wesley So, and finally Aronian, which could provide a crucial advantage.
Round 6 Pairings:
- Duda Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 2) vs R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 3)
- Wesley So (USA, 2.5) vs Levon Aronian (USA, 2.5)
- Firouzja Alireza (FRA, 2.5) vs D Gukesh (IND, 2)
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 3) vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2)
- Fabiano Caruana (USA, 3) vs Deac Bogdan Daniel (ROU, 2.5)