Sinquefield Cup 2026: Keymer checkmates Praggnanandhaa

By admin August 13, 2026 0 comments

Vincent Keymer delivered a checkmate with two knights to R Praggnanandhaa’s cornered king in Round 3 of Sinquefield Cup 2026.

So gains early sole lead

The third round witnessed three decisive results. Sam Sevian (USA) defeated Anish Giri (NED) in a prolonged 110-move battle. He could have finished things 70 moves earlier. Fabiano Caruana’s (USA) ambitious play did not play work out against Wesley So (USA).

Vincent Keymer (GER) checkmated R Praggnanandhaa | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Sevian – Giri: 1-0

This is the first time Samuel Sevian (USA, 2701) faced Anish Giri (NED, 2764) in a Classical rated game. Sevian won a 110-move prolonged battle. However, he could have finished things 70 moves earlier if he had spotted the winning tactics.

Position after 38…Rxh5??

Find out why 38…Rxh5?? is a blunder and how Sevian could have finished things much earlier.

Samuel Sevian (USA) won his first-ever Classical battle against Anish Giri (NED) | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

Fabiano Caruana’s (USA) ambitious play against Wesley So (USA) did not work out | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Keymer – Praggnanandhaa: 1-0

Vincent Keymer (GER, 2767) and R Praggnanandhaa (2750) are quite well versed with each other. They have plenty of games, 13 Classical rated games to be exact since 2014. Praggnanandhaa has won five, Keymer three and the remaining five ended in draws.

Position after 37…Na3??

Praggnanandhaa decided to focus on the queenside 37…Na3?? However, his lack of harmony between the pieces got exposed very quickly. 38.Ng3 Nd7 39.Qg4 Qc2 40.Qf4+- f6 41.exf6 Nxf6 42.Nxe6 Qxb3 43.h6 White’s attack on the kingside turned out to be quite deadly, resulting in White checkmating with two knights, almost a Smothered Mate.

R Praggnanandhaa misjudged the intensity of Vincent Keymer’s (GER) attack | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Jorden van Foreest (NED) – Levon Aronian (USA): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Replay live stream

Replay Round 3 live commentary by GMs Yasser Seirawan, Peter Svidler, Maurice Ashley and Cristian Chirila, and IMs Nazi Paikidze and Almira Skripchenko | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Replay Round 3 games

Schedule and Format

There will be one round per day from 10th to 19th August. Rest day is on 15th August. Round 1 starts at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control will be 40 moves in 90 minutes + 30 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.