Praggnanandhaa becomes first Indian to win Grand Chess Tour title

R. Praggnanandhaa defeated Fabiano Caruana to win the Grand Chess Tour final in St. Louis on Thursday, August 27, 2026, becoming the first Indian to claim the tour title. He overturned an early deficit to prevail in the multi-format match.

Praggnanandhaa began the final on the back foot after losing the opening classical game to World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana; the Indian’s blunder with his rook on the 28th move proved decisive. In the second classical game Praggnanandhaa was in control before an error allowed his American opponent to draw after 95 moves. Caruana thus maintained a 9-3 lead, with a classical win carrying six points.

Praggnanandhaa then won both rapid games, each worth four points, which moved him into an 11-9 advantage going into the blitz section. Those two rapid victories reversed the match scoreline established in the classical portion.

The match moved to blitz with Praggnanandhaa leading 11-9; Caruana was in a must-win position in the final blitz game. Praggnanandhaa secured the overall match by drawing that decisive blitz game with perpetual checks, giving him a 15-13 match victory.

This is Praggnanandhaa’s second major success in St. Louis this month: a fortnight earlier he won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, finishing 1.5 points ahead of Javokhir Sindarov, this year’s World championship challenger, and leading on all five days of that event.

Before his St. Louis results, Praggnanandhaa recorded a career-best performance at Norway Chess in Oslo, where he emerged as champion after beating Magnus Carlsen twice in the world champion’s hometown. The five-time World champion has often spoken highly of him and once even named him as the player closest to him in style.

Pravin Thipsay, India’s third Grandmaster, praised Praggnanandhaa’s practical strength and approach: “He has a great sense of what is required to win, and it is not about a better position or a complex position,” Thipsay told The Hindu. “He has a knack of where that initiative is and goes for non-simplification like Carlsen. And he goes beyond the book and is a very active player even when the positions are equal. He has become a very strong player practically.” Praggnanandhaa’s recent run follows a difficult spell at the Candidates tournament in Cyprus, where he finished seventh in a field of eight; if he continues in this form, he could be one of the favourites for the next Candidates, and, as Thipsay added, “Yes, he will be a great force,” says Thipsay.