Praggnanandhaa bounces back to beat Van Foreest in Sinquefield Cup Round 4

Praggnanandhaa (File pic)

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa delivered an emphatic response following his previous round loss, outclassing Dutchman Jorden Van Foreest in the fourth round of the Sinquefield Cup to surge into a tie for second place.

The victory moves Praggnanandhaa to 2.5 points from four rounds in the nine-round, 10-player tournament. Recovering from a third-round setback against Germany's Vincent Keymer, the Indian prodigy's swift comeback significantly strengthens his pursuit of a podium finish and a spot in the Grand Chess Tour finale.

Praggnanandhaa's victory stood out as the sole decisive result of the day, as all other four matches ended in stalemates. United States Grandmaster Wesley So retained his tournament lead on 3 points after sharing points with fellow countryman Levon Aronian.

Elsewhere, the all-American battle between Fabiano Caruana and Sevian Samuel ended in a draw, while Anish Giri split points with Uzbekistan's World Championship contender Javokhir Sindarov. France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave also signed peace with Germany's Vincent Keymer, maintaining an open contest across the board in the USD 4,75,000 tournament.

Praggnanandhaa stole the spotlight once again with a clean, highly effective tactical performance from the opening phase. Opting for a King's Pawn Opening, the Indian grandmaster kept the position compact before striking early, effectively seizing a winning path by move 12.

Van Foreest struggled to find answers after surrendering his queen for a rook and a minor piece. Demonstrating his usual technical precision, Praggnanandhaa clinically converted his advantage to close out the win.

With five rounds remaining, Wesley So holds the top spot with 3 points, closely pursued by Praggnanandhaa, Vachier-Lagrave, and Aronian just half a point behind on 2.5 points. The chasing group comprising Caruana, Keymer, and Samuel sits closely behind on 2 points each. Anish Giri and Sindarov share eighth place with 1.5 points, while Van Foreest remains at the bottom of the table on 0.5 points.

Round 4 results:

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 2.5) drew with Vincent Keymer (Ger, 2) R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 2.5) beat Jorden Van Foreest (Ned, 0.5); Anish Giri (Ned, 1.5) drew with Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 1.5); Savian Samuels (USA, 2) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2); Levon Aronian (USA, 2.5) drew with Wesley So (USA, 3)

(With inputs from ANI)