Alireza Firouzja Dominates Saint Louis Chess Tournament; Praggnanadhaa Struggles

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanadhaa fell to last place despite improving his blitz performance at the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament, finishing with 12 points. Alireza Firouzja of France triumphed with a dominating 23 points, securing $40,000 and leading the Grand Chess Tour rankings.

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanadhaa showed some improvement in the blitz section, but it was not enough to avoid a last-place finish in the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament.

On the final day, Praggnanadhaa managed to score eight points in blitz, a better performance compared to the four points he garnered in the Rapid category.

He concluded the event with a total of 12 points, while Alireza Firouzja of France emerged victorious with a formidable tally of 23 points—11 in rapid and 12 in blitz.

Firouzja's dominant performance allowed him to win with two rounds to spare, securing a $40,000 prize from a total pool of $175,000.

This victory also propelled Firouzja to the top of the Grand Chess Tour rankings, ahead of the USA's Fabiano Caruana, who had previously won the last two events but was off form this time.

With 30.58 points, Firouzja now leads Caruana, who holds 26.75 points.

Praggnanadhaa, who began the event in third place in the tour rankings, slipped to fifth with 17.25 points and now faces an uphill battle for a podium finish in the last event—the Sinquefield Cup—set to start in two days, where he will be joined by World Championship challenger D Gukesh.