Zagreb, July 2: The Grand Chess Tour 2026 kicked off its third event, the Super Rapid and Blitz in Croatia, with mixed results for Indian players. Young Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa delivered an impressive performance, securing a tie for second place on the first day, while reigning World Champion D. Gukesh found himself in sixth place.
Praggnanandhaa started strong by defeating Germany’s Vincent Keymer in his opening match. He then played to a draw against France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In the day’s final round, he faced Gukesh, which also ended in a draw. After the first day, Praggnanandhaa has accumulated 4 points out of 6 and is tied for second place.
Conversely, Gukesh had a rocky start. He suffered a defeat against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in his first match. However, he made a strong comeback by winning against Ivan Saric in the second round. His match against Praggnanandhaa ended in a draw. After three rounds, Gukesh has 3 points out of 6, placing him in sixth position. There are still six rounds remaining in the rapid section.
At the end of the first day, France’s Alireza Firouzja leads the tournament with 5 points. He has consistently performed well, regaining his form after having to withdraw from a Grand Chess Tour event in Romania due to an ankle injury a few weeks ago. His third-round match against Anish Giri ended in a draw, maintaining his lead. In other matches, Vincent Keymer defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov, while Bogdan-Daniel Deac secured his first win of the tournament against Ivan Saric. The match between Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Jordan van Foreest also ended in a draw.
This tournament features two formats. The first is a Super Rapid tournament consisting of 9 rounds, where each player has 25 minutes and an additional 10 seconds per move. This will be followed by an 18-round Blitz tournament, where each player has 5 minutes and 2 seconds per move. In the rapid format, a win earns 2 points and a draw 1 point, while in blitz, a win awards 1 point and a draw gives half a point.
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