Sinquefield Cup: Praggnanandhaa wins his first Classical game against Firouzja, catches up with Caruana
R Praggnanandhaa defeated Alireza Firouzja (FRA) for the first time in a Classical rated game in Round 7 of Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2025. This win moved Praggnanandhaa to the top as he joined the lead with Fabiano Caruana (USA). Caruana drew his game against Levon Aronian (USA). Both Caruana and Praggnanandhaa are at the top with 4.5/7 each. Aronian and Wesley So (USA) are close behind at 4/7 each. So defeated the World Champion, D Gukesh. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) handed Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) his fourth loss of the event. Praggnanandhaa's last two opponents at this event are - So and Aronian. Round 8 starts today at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
A tournament of firsts for Praggnanandhaa
Firouzja - Praggnanandhaa: 0-1
Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 2766) and R Praggnanandhaa (2779) played ten Classical rated games against each other. Firouzja won their first encounter in 2017, the remaining nine ended in draws. This is a tournament where Praggnanandhaa is starting to change the statistic in his favor.
25.Nxe5 is slightly better than 25.dxe5 due to the fact that it immediately stops c4, losing the d4-pawn was not a big concern. 25.dxe5? c4 needed to be played immediately. Black opted to trade the rook first 25...Rxd1+ 26.Qxd1 c4 27.Qa4? it did not do any good to White. 27.Qd6 was a better alternative. 27...c3-+ 28.Nd4 Rd8 29.e6 fxe6 30.Rxb7 Qxb7 31.Nxe6 Qd7 and it's over.
So - Gukesh: 1-0
Wesley So (USA, 2745) and D Gukesh (2776) have played six Classical rated games against each other. So won the first one and the next five ended in draws.
24...Bc8?! is a strange retreat 25.Bxd5 Rxe5 26.dxe5 Rd8? it is difficult to say what Black could have done differently as he is already down by two pawns, White has menacing bishop pair and the g-file is open. 27.Rg1+- Nh4 28.Qf4 Rxd5 queen sacrifice did not help as Black's position was already dwindling.
Replay live stream
Schedule and Format
Sinquefield Cup will have one round per day from 18th to 27th August. Rest day is on Saturday 23rd August. Each round starts at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. GCT Playoffs if required will take place on 28th August.
Round 7 results
Standings after Round 7
Round 8 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 2771 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | 2766 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 2779 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | GM | So, Wesley | 2745 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 8 | 2683 | GM | Sevian, Samuel | GM | Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | 2725 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 9 | 2736 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | 2784 | 10 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 2776 | GM | Gukesh, D | GM | Aronian, Levon | 2737 | 4 |
GCT standings
Prize
The total prize fund for each Classical event is US$ 350000. The top three prizes are US$ 100000, $65000 and $48000.
