Praggnanandhaa Struggles on Day Two at Saint Louis Chess Tournament

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa faced tough challenges and managed only two draws out of three games on the second day of the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz Chess Tournament. French players Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja, along with Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, are leading with eight points each.

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa continued to face significant pressure, securing only two draws out of three games on the second day of the rapid section at the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz Chess Tournament.

Leading the pack are the French duo Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja, alongside Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi, each with eight points out of a possible twelve, under the tournament's scoring system that awards two points for a rapid win and one for each draw.

American Levon Aronian is in fourth place with seven points, followed by compatriot Lenier Dominguez. A group of players sharing the sixth spot includes Americans Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Wesley So, as well as Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov. With only three points, Praggnanandhaa finds himself at the bottom and needs a strong performance in the blitz section to improve his standings.

(With inputs from agencies.)