R Praggnanandhaa is returning to the big stage to face the world's top players at the upcoming St Louis Rapid and Blitz event. Despite a few recent setbacks, the Indian GM is eyeing a top-three finish in the final Grand Chess Tour rankings. Such a result would be financially rewarding, as the tour offers a $175,000 bonus pool, split with $100,000 for the champion and $50,000 for the runner-up.
R Pragganandhaa will lock horns with the world’s best once again when the Indian Grandmaster takes the elite field in the St Louis Rapid and Blitz event that gets underway. Despite a minor fall in recent results, Praggnanandhaa will be hoping to finish on the podium in the Grand Chess Tour final rankings, which would also entitle him to a bonus cash prize of USD 175,000. The winner will receive USD 100,000, while the runner-up will receive an additional USD 50,000.
Currently ranked third overall, the Indian star has two back-to-back opportunities to secure a better spot. After the rapid and blitz competition, he will move straight into the Sinquefield Cup, competing alongside his compatriot and world championship challenger, D Gukesh.
Fabiano Caruana of the USA is currently the man to beat; after winning in both Bucharest and Zagreb, he has amassed 22.25 points and is eyeing another tour title. He is followed by Alireza Firouzja (17.58 points) and Praggnanandhaa (16.25 points). Gukesh sits in fourth with 14.25 points, but he faces an uphill battle because he only has one event remaining, unlike the top three who are playing the full circuit.
The usual powerhouses expected to dominate the rapid and blitz formats include Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi, France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattarov, and the USA's Wesley So. Joining them are three wild card entries from the US: Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian, and Lenier Dominguez.
The tournament format consists of nine rapid games and 18 blitz games played among the ten participants. In the rapid section, a win earns two points and a draw earns one. In the blitz portion, winners receive one point, while draws are worth 0.5.
Each quick victory is worth two points, while a draw is worth one point. In the blitz, one point is granted for a win and 0.5 for each draw.
The total prize fund for the event is $175,000, with the first-place finisher taking $40,000. It's worth noting that Caruana's victory in Zagreb was decisive, securing the win with five rounds to spare. While Praggnanandhaa missed the Zagreb leg, he did share the title of the Superbet Classic in Bucharest with Caruana, Alireza, and Gukesh, though Caruana eventually took the trophy after the tiebreaks.
In other news, Ajeet Kumar Verma, who serves as the secretary of the Delhi Chess Association, is expected to be appointed as the new head of operations for the All-India Chess Federation. While Arbind Kumar Singh was also a top candidate for the position, Verma has emerged as the preferred choice.