Zagreb Grand Chess Tour: Praggnanandhaa Continues Red-Hot Form, Gukesh Stumbles

Last Updated:July 02, 2026, 08:15 IST

Fresh off his Norway Chess triumph, R Praggnanandhaa crushed top seed Vincent Keymer in just 26 moves before drawing with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Zagreb.

Fresh from his title-winning run at Norway Chess, Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa picked up right where he left off, producing a dazzling attacking display to defeat top seed Vincent Keymer on the opening day of the Zagreb leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

Playing with the white pieces, the Indian teenager unleashed a relentless assault on the German’s king, wrapping up the contest in just 26 moves. The clinical victory earned Praggnanandhaa two points in the rapid format and served as another reminder of the fearless style that has propelled him to the top tier of world chess.

The 19-year-old’s opening-round triumph was followed by a solid draw against France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the second game of the day. Vachier-Lagrave had begun the tournament with an impressive victory over reigning world champion D Gukesh, making Praggnanandhaa’s draw another valuable result.

Gukesh, meanwhile, endured a mixed start to his campaign. The world champion was outplayed by Vachier-Lagrave in the opening round but bounced back strongly by defeating Croatia’s Ivan Saric in his second game. The Indian showcased his defensive resilience before gradually turning the tables to secure his first victory of the tournament.

French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja emerged as the sole leader after the opening two rounds. After defeating Saric in the first round, Firouzja followed it up with an impressive win over Romania’s Bogdan-Daniel Deac while playing with the black pieces.

With rapid victories worth two points and draws worth one, Firouzja leads the standings with four points from two games.

Praggnanandhaa, Vachier-Lagrave and Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri sit jointly in second place on three points apiece. Gukesh, Keymer and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov follow with two points each, while Deac has one point after two rounds. Jan van Foreest and Saric are yet to get off the mark.

(with PTI inputs)

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Siddarth Sriram

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His...Read More

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