Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa continued his rise in elite chess circles by securing a place in the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) finale after finishing second at the prestigious Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis. The 19-year-old’s strong showing saw him tie for first place in the classical section alongside American duo Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana, all finishing with 5.5 points from nine rounds.

The tournament, however, concluded with a dramatic three-way playoff to determine the winner. Wesley So emerged victorious, defeating Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the final round to force a tie at the top, before clinching the title in the tiebreaker. So secured 1.5 points in the rapid playoff round, defeating Praggnanandhaa and drawing with Caruana to take home the crown.

Praggnanandhaa, who had earlier played out a solid draw with Levon Aronian in the ninth and final classical round, opened his tiebreak campaign with an impressive victory over Caruana. That win briefly raised hopes of an Indian triumph, but the youngster fell to So in the following game, finishing second with one point in the playoff. Caruana managed only a draw in his two tiebreak games, settling for third place.