Sinquefield Cup: Pragg In Joint Lead After Draw In Round 3, Gukesh Held By Samuel Sevian

Last Updated:August 21, 2025, 15:52 IST

Following his second draw in three games, Pragg stands as one of three leaders in the group alongside Fabiano Caruana of United States and Armenian-turned-American Levon Aronian.

R Praggnanandhaa. (PTI Photo)

Indian chess prodigies D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa had to settle for a share of the spoils in their respective third round clashes against lone wild card Samuel Sevian of the USA and Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan at the Sinquefield Cup on Thursday.

Following his second draw in three games, Pragg stands as one of three leaders in the group alongside Fabiano Caruana of United States and Armenian-turned-American Levon Aronian.

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Caruana handed Alireza Firouzja of France his first loss in the tournament in the only decisive game of the day. Aronian was held to a draw by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, while another American, Wesley So, split the point with Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland.

With six rounds still to come in the $375,000 prize money tournament, Praggnanandhaa, Aronian, and Caruana share the lead with two points each. They are closely followed by Wesley, Firouzja, Vachier-Lagrave, Sevian, and Gukesh, all standing half a point behind.

Duda is next in line with one point, while Abdusattorov opened his account with half a point from his first three outings here.

For Gukesh, the first draw in the tournament was relatively easy with the black pieces. Samuel Sevian tried the Rossolimo variation against the Sicilian defence, but Gukesh remained in control. The middle game unfolded smoothly, with both players exchanging pieces regularly, leading to a drawn endgame.

Praggnanandhaa, playing his first black game after two white ones, chose the Nimzo-Indian defence. Abdusattorov, struggling to find his form, could not gain much advantage. The game reached an opposite-coloured Bishops endgame, where a draw was a fair result.

The day could have been uneventful if not for Caruana, who played a fine positional game to outwit Firouzja. The Fianchetto variation against the Nimzo gave Caruana a spatial advantage as his pieces were better placed in the middle game. After a persistent effort, the American pushed his central passed pawn to the seventh rank, achieving the desired effect.

With the top four places in the Grand Chess Tour at stake for the grand finale later this year, Caruana seemed pleased with his victory. The American noted that Vachier-Lagrave has almost qualified, and the rest of the contenders are fighting for the remaining spots.

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Results Round 3:

Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 0.5) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 2)

Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 2) beat Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 1.5)

Duda Jan Kryzstof (Pol, 1) drew with Wesley So (Usa, 1.5)

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 1.5) drew with Levon Aronian (Usa, 1.5)

Samuel Sevian (Usa, 1.5) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 1.5).

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Location :

United States of America (USA)

First Published:

August 21, 2025, 15:52 IST

News sports Sinquefield Cup: Pragg In Joint Lead After Draw In Round 3, Gukesh Held By Samuel Sevian

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