"This is my best Rapid and Blitz performance ever!" R. Praggnanandhaa
R Praggnanandhaa has won the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2026, leading from day one to day five and never letting go. It is, by his own assessment, the strongest Rapid and Blitz showing of his career. In this in-depth interview, he takes us through the ambitious c5 that Levon Aronian played against him, the quiet Qb2 that cost Fabiano Caruana the game, the opening idea he liked so much he made a note to reuse it, the antidote to the French Defence that Jorden Van Foreest had prepared, and the thrilling finale with Javokhir Sindarov. Photo: Lennart Ootes
What a Pragg-matic performance!
Praggnanandhaa won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026 after maintaining his lead throughout the tournament. He took an early lead on the first day of the Rapid section and held it through both days. He entered the Blitz section with a one-point advantage, which he extended to 1.5 points after nine rounds. He maintained that lead on the final day to finish 1.5 points clear and claim the title.
Sagar: Pragg, congratulations on winning the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz. As you mentioned in your video, this is your best-ever Rapid and Blitz performance, right?
Pragg: Thanks. It is! I don't remember winning any strong Rapid and Blitz event in the last few years. So this is sort of the Rapid and Blitz performance that I have shown.
Sagar: I have followed many Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz events, and it's very difficult to be in the lead on every single day.
Pragg: I don't think it was domination or anything, because the fight was still there almost till the end. If I lost to Javokhir, then there was still a lot of fight in the last game. So there were some moments, a little bit here and there, that went my way. But overall, I played quite well. I managed to keep control in most games. That's good.
Sagar: Let's look at a few games, because those were the interesting moments. I think it all began with the round two game against Levon Aronian. He played a bit over-ambitious move, 13...c5, and after you played 14. dxc5, you got a great position.
Pragg: I was surprised by that move. I was expecting 13...Qc7 14. e4 e5. That looked like the logical way to play. The computer shows a big advantage, but I wasn't sure what was happening during the game. It's a complicated position. Black's pieces are also active. I still have to develop my Bishop on c1 and I wasn't sure where it was going. There were always some a4, b4 things. After 14. dxc5, it looked really good for me because I am getting 15. e4 e5 next.
Sagar: That's very strong. Even e6. I was watching this live on the Saint Louis channel and Levon has been in good shape. He won the Biel Masters 2026. I thought he would create some mess, but you kept very good control.
Pragg: It could get tricky, but I had a good time advantage in this game, so I managed to keep the control.
Sagar: You won that game. It was a great start. You scored 3/4. Then we will discuss your game with Fabiano. To me, it's still not clear how a move like Qb2, could suddenly give him a lost position. Did you feel it during the game?
Pragg: No, I didn't. (laughs) I didn't realise the position was so much better for me at this point already. I was just trying to make the best moves, which I thought were the best moves. So I didn't really assess the position too much. But actually, instead of 30...Qd3, Ng6 was cleanest. (30....Ng6 f5 exf5 gxf5 Rxf5 Rxg6 Rh5+ Kg2 Qxg6+)
I stopped it early. But even then it's still tricky. If the g-file is open, instead of Rg6, he can play Rg3 or something. It's not great for White.
Sagar: Your decision of playing 34. Nd4 was very interesting. You were okay with two pieces versus a rook. It was a very good call.
Pragg: I thought if I don't play it, I am just suffering through the game. If I give him one tempo, then he will play 34. Rb2, it will be very bad for me. So I had to go for 34... Nd4. I had to foresee this when I went for 31...Nbc6, I already saw it.
Sagar: Day one ended with two wins and a draw. 5/6 score. Then we go to the most interesting game on day two, against Sindarov. You must have been pretty certain you would be better after 13. f3, with White's pieces trapped in the opening?
Pragg: It should be, right? You are getting a piece without much compensation. It looks like there is not much compensation, but he managed to create practical chances. It wasn't easy at all.
Sagar: He was two pawns up, but somehow it seems like he is getting a6, b5 and his pieces are all pretty good; the bishop is good, the knight could come in.
Pragg: Yeah. I still need to develop the knight on g1 and get the rook in, which will take a few moves, but even after getting that, my pieces are not really on good squares. That's what happens in the game. The moves are much easier to play with Black.
Sagar: I think you made a good practical choice to agree to a draw, because sometimes you feel "oh, I have an opening edge" and you keep pushing and it can go the other way.
Pragg: I thought this was a good one. I could have pushed, but after 24...Nc4, I could go Rd3, but he could have played Re7 or Ra7, doubling on the e-file.
I don't see why Black should be so much worse, because I can't really attack any of his weaknesses and he can just start pushing a5, f4, b4. So I felt it's fine to take a draw.
Sagar: The funny thing is that Sindarov was 1-1.5 points behind you throughout the tournament, almost from day one. He was playing quite well.
Pragg: Yeah. He was playing really well this tournament.
Sagar: Going to the next game against Vincent Keymer. You had great opening preparation. 12. Bd2 and 13. Qc1, with the idea of Be1 and h4. Was that over the board, or opening prep?
Pragg: Did it look like opening prep? (laughs)
Sagar: Your clock says you had taken eight minutes, but it's such a good idea.
Pragg: No. I didn't know this at all. I didn't check this line.
Sagar: It is very rare. Then you got a nice position.
Pragg: I thought I played a really good game. At some point, I managed to mess it up, and we got to something crazy.
Sagar: You won it. Then day three began. You were leading and then you lost against Jorden. You played your French, which was your go-to weapon in this tournament, and somehow he came very well prepared and won.
Pragg: It was immediately after I played against Vincent. It was a long game and there was not much time. I had a feeling not to play the French against Jorden, because I had played it against Anish already in the first game of the day. I had a feeling not to do it. And then I thought, I have checked it, it's not a problem, I should just test my prep and play. Then I just got blown away by prep. There was nothing.
Sagar: I think you mis-assessed 16. Na4.
Pragg: I saw a3. I thought e5 is counterplay for some reason. I just didn't realise 19. Qc5 was so strong.
Sagar: You ended the day with a loss but still kept your lead. How was your mood after the rapid ended? You were on 12 points, Sindarov on 11.
Pragg: I was also winning against Wesley. That was also a good game, which I missed. So I still felt like I could have got a bit more points. In this game, I just didn't fight; there was nothing. It was not like I got outplayed or something; it's just that I lost from the opening. So I felt I could have maybe pushed for a bit more. But still, winning the rapid portion is great. You can't really complain too much about it.
Sagar: Then, 18 rounds of blitz. You started off with a win against Vincent; a good start. There were many good games, but I found your game against Dominguez very interesting. You had a 40-second edge and you played 31. Rc8 32. Qd4 h6 33. h4 Kh7 34. Rc3 Rc7 35. Kh2 Rc6...
This 35. Rc6 was just not needed. I saw Nd7; I can win the piece. For a second I thought Qd5 or Qf5 could come or something. Which is, of course fine. There are many ways to play. Nc5 is there. I think even Rc5 is there. So anything is possible. But for a second I got panicked; I thought I would go Rc6, and then I went back to Rc7 and went for the same idea.
Sagar: I thought you were trying to bleed him down on time, in some sense, because he had so little time and he blundered here with 38. Ne6.
Sagar: Then you had a draw with Sindarov. Did you miss 29. Rxc6?
Pragg: No, I saw it immediately after I played it. It's quite bad to miss this.
Sagar: It's funny that you and Javokhir played two interesting pawn endgames in two days. This was a very important hold against Javokhir; otherwise he would have surpassed you in the standings.
Pragg: No, I think he would still be half a point behind.
Sagar: Against Awonder Liang, your decision to give up the two rooks was so good. I saw you thinking about 16...Nf5, whether to play it or not, and then you went for it.
Pragg: Intuitively, I felt that this should be good for me. With queen and knight it can be really good. But still I had to decide on it and this game was just so bad. Not winning is fine, but also not making the draw…
Sagar: Because you had so many ways to just draw at any point.
Pragg: That's exactly what I was trying to avoid in this tournament, not to lose games like this. But at least it was just one game, and I didn't do anything like this again.
Sagar: Do you think it's a good idea in rapid and blitz events to have one opening and play it, so that you save time in the opening?
Pragg: I don't know. I don't think it matters so much. Magnus usually just jumps around with openings. I don't know if he plans it before the day or just before the games; I don't know how it works. But generally I try to have a plan. It's better for me if I know what I am going to play against specific opponents.
Sagar: When you agreed for a draw with Wesley, did you feel Re8 was trouble?
Pragg: No, I didn't see it. I saw Re8 is a move, but I didn't realise that the next move was Rxe8 Qxe8 threatning Qc6 and it's over. I didn't realise the pawn endgame was just lost. He was also getting low on time. And I was actually thinking that maybe if I get a4 in for a move, then Black is already taking over. So I also have my counterplay.
Sagar: Then the big one, this was my favourite moment of the entire tournament. You have four seconds. Javokhir has seven. You are one and a half points ahead. If he beats you in the penultimate round, you go into the last round with only half a point. And you hold this. How easy was this endgame to hold?
Pragg: The thing is, if I could have spent one or two seconds a move earlier, I would have played 74. Ke4 instead of (Kxe3).
Sagar: Then you wouldn't have got this very instructive distant opposition, which we all read about in books but which never happens in practical games. But here it happens.
Pragg: Maybe a new example for kids to see! (Smiles)
Sagar: If ever an update of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual happens, this position should be added.
Pragg: The thing is, I wasn't sure whether giving up the opposition is lost or not, because I didn't have time to calculate all that. But it felt so… how to say, so principled to keep the opposition. I guess it's just classical knowledge.
Sagar: I think this is a great example of why endgames should be studied. It's not that you can calculate, but when such moments come with less time, you can play on feel, on your past knowledge.
Pragg: I think so. If you are well-versed with it, then it's much easier.
Sagar: With this win, you won the event. Two back-to-back tournament victories: one classical (Norway chess), one rapid and blitz.
Pragg: That feels like a long time back already! Even from the rapid to the blitz here, it feels like long, long days. The last two days of blitz, I felt it was taking a lot of effort and energy from me. But okay, it was worth it.
Sagar: You have another tournament coming up, the Sinquefield Cup, but you have a few days in between to relax and get back? I think the 10th is the first round.
Pragg: Three days. I am not sure if it's usually the case. It's good. After such an event, we all need rest days to come back fresh.
Sagar: Also, Saint Louis is a beautiful place. There is a park nearby; it's a huge park, you can walk around and stuff.
Pragg: Yeah. There are places to go.
Sagar: There is this photo of yours that was posted today, which is very nice: you looking out of the window, by John. This was after you won the event.
Pragg: I am wondering if this is after I won or after I lost to Awonder. (Laughs)
Sagar: No, this is after you won the tournament. I think you are checking which restaurant is open tonight to eat!
Pragg: Only two times I look out from the window: when I lost, and when I won the tournament.
Sagar: One more thing I wanted to bring up: this post was made by Ramesh sir on Instagram. This was before the event?
Pragg: We were there for training. For me, these group trainings are always fun. It's not really like training; it is training, of course, because we are looking at chess; but still, it's a lot of fun when you look at the group.
Sagar: I think it's a reminder to all the youngsters out there that you should enjoy working on chess.
Pragg: But I think the impressive part is that Pranesh is there in the picture. I think this is the next day after the Chennai Grandmasters.
Sagar: Oh, he finished the tournament; he beat Gukesh there and then he comes here and practises?
Pragg: Yes. I was just chilling at home and training!
Sagar: For a final question: you are there with Vaishali. She is also going to play now in the Cairns Cup. How was it having her by your side? Was she helping you with your tournament, since hers hadn't begun yet?
Pragg: It's great to have someone from the family here, and it's great to have her because she also understands the mistakes I make; it's much easier to talk about chess. It's nice to have her here. She is also going to play in the Cairns Cup, so for jet lag and all, it's much easier for her to come early. And it also helps to have someone with you that you can connect with easily.
Sagar: Pragg, it was a pleasure following your Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz and we wish you all the best for the Sinquefield Cup, which will be very exciting. Good luck.
Pragg: Thank you.
Check out the entire video interview here:
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