Grand Chess Tour Croatia: Praggnanandhaa Slips to Fourth, Alireza Leads Blitz

Praggnanandhaa Struggles in Blitz as Firouzja Soars

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa could not replicate his rapid form, managing just 3.5 points from the opening nine rounds of the blitz section at the Grand Chess Tour Croatia. Meanwhile, France's Alireza Firouzja produced a brilliant display to emerge as the sole leader after the penultimate day.

Alireza was simply brilliant in the faster version, knocking down as many as eight points out of a possible nine and taking a massive three-point lead on 20 points over nearest rivals Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, who are tied at 17 points each.

Praggnanandhaa Drops to Fourth

Praggnanandhaa slipped behind to a distanced fourth on 15.5 points, while world champion D Gukesh had another average day to reach 13.5 points for fifth spot. In what can be termed one of the most dominant performances in Grand Chess Tour history, Firouzja has left half the field at least seven points adrift.

—

Wide Pickt banner — collaborative shopping lists app for Telegram, phone mockup with grocery list

Vincent Keymer of Germany is sixth on 13 points, Dutchman Anish Giri is another half a point behind on 12.5, while Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania is on 11.5. Another two points behind is Jorden van Foreest of Holland on 9.5, and Croatian Ivan Saric is at the bottom on just 5 points.

Praggnanandhaa's Blitz Collapse

After a dramatic bounce back that saw him sharing the lead after the rapid section with Alireza, Praggnanandhaa apparently missed the thread in the blitz section. Starting the day with a win over Keymer, he took a draw in the next game with Giri but then suffered four straight losses that dented his confidence. The Indian ended with a net score of 3.5 points out of a possible eight on the fourth day of the tournament.

Gukesh Also Struggles

Things were not much different for Gukesh, even though he got a half point more than Praggnanandhaa. Four losses in patches for the youngest ever world champion did not help his cause much.

With nine rounds in the blitz section still to be played, the top place is probably already decided. Praggnanandhaa still has a chance for a podium finish if he regains his touch on the final day of this $200,000 prize money tournament.