Praggnanandhaa beats Van Foreest in Sinquefield Cup fourth round in St. Louis
R Praggnanandhaa defeated Jorden Van Foreest in the fourth round of the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis on August 15, 2026, moving to 2.5 points from four games and into a share of second place.
Praggnanandhaa recovered from a loss in the previous round to Vincent Keymer of Germany, and the victory was described in the report as a comeback that will boost his chances for the podium to qualify for the finale of the Grand Chess Tour. The fourth round produced a single decisive result while the other four boards finished in draws, and the event carries USD 4,75,000 in prize money.
The game began as a King pawn opening that Praggnanandhaa kept relatively compact before launching an early tactical operation; by move 12 he had forced a sequence that left Van Foreest down material after losing his queen for a rook and a minor piece. The report noted Praggnanandhaa's technique in converting the advantage, describing his display as simple yet effective.
Wesley So remained the tournament leader on three points after drawing with Levon Aronian. Other drawn games in round four were Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 2.5) with Vincent Keymer (Ger, 2), Savian Samuels (USA, 2) with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2), and Anish Giri (Ned, 1.5) with Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 1.5).
The standings after four rounds place Wesley So on 3 points; R Praggnanandhaa, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian on 2.5 each; Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer and Savian Samuels on 2 points each; Anish Giri and Javokhir Sindarov on 1.5; and Jorden Van Foreest on 0.5.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's draw with Vincent Keymer was noted in the report as leaving the field wide open in this USD 4,75,000 prize money tournament, with Praggnanandhaa again identified as the day's sole decisive player.
With five rounds still to be played, Wesley So leads on three points while Praggnanandhaa, Vachier-Lagrave and Aronian sit half a point behind, leaving several players within reach as the Sinquefield Cup progresses.