Praggnanandhaa Secures Third Spot In Croatia

Praggnanandhaa achieved a tied third position at the Croatian Grand Chess Tour on Monday, scoring 21.5 points.

He shared the third spot with French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Praggnanandhaa showed resilience, scoring 6 points from his last eight games after an initial loss.

The Indian Grandmaster now holds the sixth spot in the overall Grand Chess Tour standings with 11.5 points.

France's Firouzja Alireza won the tournament after a tie-break against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, scoring 23.5 points.

Praggnanandhaa's main victim was Alireza, and he also scored points against other opponents.

The Indian star began the final day with a loss against Vincent Keymer but then did well to score points.

Praggnanandhaa has a tough road ahead, needing to come back stronger to make it to the finale of the GCT scheduled later this year.

The next two events on the tour will be held in St. Louis, with one rapid and blitz followed by one classical event.

Praggnanandhaa and Vachier-Lagrave shared USD 25000 each, while Alireza won USD 47000 for his efforts.

The Grand Chess Tour standings have Fabiano Caruana of the United States at the helm on 20 points, with Keymer in second spot on 19, a point ahead of Alireza.