Pragg bounces back to jump to second spot

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa bounced back from a poor start to climb to second in the overall standings at the end of the first half of the blitz section in the Superbet Rapid & Blitz tournament, which is part of the Grand Chess Tour. Praggnanandhaa’s efforts held him in good stead for a second day running. The Indian had not done well on the first two days of rapid chess but has come back strongly especially showing his expertise in the blitz section.

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Praggnanandhaa had started with losses to Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania and Levon Aronian of United States but then recovered to beat Firouzja Alireza of France and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In the last three rounds, Praggnanandhaa put it across Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram and David Gavrilescu of Romania.