R Praggnanandhaa Outwits Javokhir Sindarov In Super Chess Classics Round Two

Last Updated:May 15, 2026, 23:59 IST

R Praggnanandhaa beats Javokhir Sindarov at the Super Chess Classics in Bucharest, joins Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vincent Keymer in the lead.

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa reserved his best for the in-form World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov, outwitting him in the second round of the Super Chess Classics in Bucharest on Friday.

Praggnanandhaa was at his very best with the black pieces in what appeared to be a drawn middle game with a repetition of moves. However, the Indian took his chances.

Sindarov tried to reinvent the wheel as he went for a known variation of the Italian Opening that had long been discarded in elite chess circles.

However, Sindarov could only manage to achieve dynamic balance in a pawnless middle game, and his rival was quite up to the mark in defence.

The Uzbek thought he had some chances against the black king when he sacrificed a piece, and even though the computers suggested that a draw was on the cards, Praggnanandhaa took his chances to complicate matters.

Subsequently, Sindarov failed to find adequate counterplay and decided to call it a day after 42 moves, when Praggnanandhaa seemed to have consolidated his position with an extra piece.

Fabiano Caruana of the United States played out a draw with Dutchman Anish Giri from a closed Ruy Lopez opening.

Playing white, Caruana got nothing out of the opening, and subsequent exchanges led to an opposite-coloured bishops endgame in which a draw was the only choice for both players.

Wesley So’s Berlin Defence against Jorden Van Foreest also worked well with the black pieces, as the latter could make little impact.

While looking for an initiative as black, Wesley eventually had to settle for a drawn opposite-coloured bishops endgame.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave turned out to be a worthy winner against his French compatriot Alireza Firouzja in a complex battle with the black pieces.

Vachier won a couple of pawns amidst tactics and then used them wisely to score the second win of the event after an all-drawn first round.

Vincent Keymer of Germany was the other winner of the day at the expense of the lowest-ranked player, Deac Bogdan-Danial of Romania.

It was an orthodox Réti Opening in which Keymer was able to outplay the Romanian in the middle game after 50 hard-fought moves.

At the end of the second round, Praggnanandhaa, Keymer and Vachier-Lagrave shared the lead on 1.5 points each, followed by Caruana, Wesley, Van Foreest and Giri with a point each.

Firouzja, Deac and Sindarov shared the eighth spot on half a point each.

The Super Classic is a nine-round event between 10 players with a total prize pool of USD 350000, of which USD 100000 is reserved for the winner.

Results: Round 2

Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 0.5) lost to R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 1.5); Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 0.5) lost to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 1.5); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 1) drew with Anish Giri (Ned, 1); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 1.5) beat Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 0.5); Wesley So (Usa, 1) drew with Jorden Van Foreest (Ned, 1)

(With PTI Inputs)

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