Praggnanandhaa carried a 2.5-point advantage into the final stretch of the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown before slipping to second place with 19 points after a draw and a loss to Fabiano Caruana. Sindarov took full advantage of the stumble, racking up 20.5 points on the final day to secure the title and USD 168,000. Caruana took third place with 16.5 points, while Hikaru Nakamura rounded out the field in fourth with 12 points.
Key points
A draw and final-round defeat against Fabiano Caruana erased Praggnanandhaa's initial 2.5…: A draw and final-round defeat against Fabiano Caruana erased Praggnanandhaa's initial 2.5-point lead on the final day.
Hikaru Nakamura finished the Saint Louis competition in fourth place with a score of 12 p…: Hikaru Nakamura finished the Saint Louis competition in fourth place with a score of 12 points.
Sindarov gained major competitive momentum ahead of his November 2026 World Championship…: Sindarov gained major competitive momentum ahead of his November 2026 World Championship clash against D Gukesh in Geneva.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
NEW DELHI: Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa walked away with over Rs 1 crore in prize money after finishing runner-up at the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in Saint Louis, USA.
However, despite the handsome reward, the young Indian chess star admitted that he was slightly disappointed to miss out on the title.
Praggnanandhaa finished second with 19 points, just 1.5 points behind Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov, who staged an impressive comeback on the final day to claim the championship with 20.5 points. Fabiano Caruana finished third with 16.5 points, while Hikaru Nakamura settled for fourth place with 12 points.
Reacting to his performance in a video shared on X, Praggnanandhaa said, "The clutch chess event has just concluded, and I finished second in the event. It was a really exciting event with a lot of crazy games.
"Congrats to Javokhir. He played really well at the end on the last day when it mattered the most. And as for me, uh, it is a little disappointing, I was so close to the title, but nevertheless, I'm happy that I fought till the…
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