Wesley So wins Sinquefield Cup 2026 via Armageddon, Praggnanandhaa second

By admin August 20, 2026 0 comments

Wesley So drew Armageddon with black pieces against R Praggnanandhaa to win Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2026. This is So’s third triumph of the event. He won it in 2016 and last year.

So becomes the first player to win this event for the second consecutive year; Praggnanandhaa, So, Caruana and Keymer in the GCT Finals

Wesley So (USA) has now won Sinquefield Cup for the third time in his career. The first time he won it was a decade ago and second time was last year. For the second consecutive year, So won the event via Playoffs and Praggnanandhaa finished second. Only difference was, this time it was a two-way tie for the first place between So and Praggnanandhaa.

Praggnanandhaa and So played two 10’+5″ Rapid games. Both of them ended in draws. In Armageddon, Praggnanandhaa had the white pieces. He got a couple of good winning chances. However, he could not find them in time. The game ended in a draw, thus So became champion and Praggnanandhaa second. Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) and Vincent Keymer (GER) shared third place scoring 5/9 each.

Praggnanandhaa, So, Fabiano Caruana (USA) and Vincent Keymer (GER) are the top four finishers of the season. They will play the Grand Chess Tour Finals from 22nd to 27th August in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.

“I am not proud of the early draws, but it’s part of a bigger strategy. Yeah and it worked well. I knew that I made two quick draws with white. So I am not especially proud of that. But at the same time, it preserved a lot of energy for me. Also gave me time to prepare, gave me time to recover and for my mind to recover also. It worked perfectly.

Obviously winning the Sinquefield Cup two times in-a-row, I don’t think anyone has ever done it. Also, qualifying for top four is just as important.” – Wesley So on winning the tournament for the second consecutive year.

“I was actually really nervous last night because if Sindarov beats me, then the whole strategy falls apart. I mean I will still qualify for the top four but I would be very very hard on myself. I was actually very displeased with my game today against Sindarov. I played inaccurately. He was even tiny bit better at some point. When I was able to trade pieces, I was very happy. Also, I knew Sindarov is an incredibly strong chess player. He could very well be a World Champion in a few months. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but fortunately, I had the white pieces. I was able to trade trade trade. It’s very nice to win the tournament, even though it’s only Armageddon. I’ll take any victory that comes my way.” – So added.

Wesley So (USA) won Sinquefield Cup for the third time in his career | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Interview with Wesley So | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Round 9: Wesley So (USA) – Javokhir Sindarov (UZB): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

R Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So during the Playoff games | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

R Praggnanandhaa vs Wesley So, Armageddon | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Replay live stream

Replay Round 9 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 9 and Playoff 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.