St. Louis: India's young chess Grandmaster, R. Praggnanandhaa, created history by winning the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament held in the United States. With a stellar performance throughout the tournament, Praggnanandhaa remained in the lead from the start. A draw against Uzbekistan's Zavokhir Sindarov in the final blitz stage secured the title.

Pragnanandhaa scored 23.5 points out of 35, the highest in the tournament. This is the first Grand Chess Tour (GCT) trophy of his career. With this historic achievement, he received a prize money of approximately ₹4.8 million (US$50,000) and 13 valuable GCT points.

Maintained Dominance for Five Days

Pragnanandhaa consistently held the top spot throughout the five-day tournament. Although Uzbekistan's Zavokhir Sindarov gave the Indian player a tough fight until the final day, Praggnanandhaa maintained his lead.

In the last nine blitz rounds, he won three, drew five, and lost just one. Notably, he scored the most points in both the rapid and blitz stages.

After winning the title, Praggnanandhaa said that while the victory may have seemed easy from the scoreboard, the match was actually quite tough. He admitted that Sindarov gave him a tough fight until the very end.

Another major achievement after Norway Chess

2026 is proving to be a great year for Praggnanandhaa. Earlier in June, he won the Norway Chess title in Oslo. In the final round of the tournament, he defeated Germany's Vincent Keymer and became the champion with four consecutive victories.

Now, his eyes are on the Sinquefield Cup, which begins on August 10. This tournament is crucial for qualifying for the Grand Chess Tour Finals. After the Sinquefield Cup, the top four players in the points table will advance to the GCT Finals. The winner of the final will receive a prize money of approximately ₹1.65 crore (US$200,000).

Achieved the Grandmaster title at the age of 12

Born in Chennai on August 10, 2005, R. Praggnanandhaa established his identity in international chess at a very young age. In 2018, at the age of just 12 years, 10 months, and 13 days, he achieved the Grandmaster title. At that time, he became the second youngest Grandmaster in the world and the youngest Grandmaster in India.

Chess runs deep in Praggnanandhaa's family. His elder sister, R. Vaishali, is also an internationally renowned Grandmaster and has achieved numerous significant achievements representing India.

This victory in St. Louis not only gave Praggnanandhaa his first GCT trophy, but also cemented his impressive run in 2026 with another major achievement.