Praggnanandhaa and Firouzja top Super Rapid Croatia 2026

By admin July 4, 2026 0 comments

R Praggnanandhaa scored a hat-trick to join Alireza Firouzja at the top after the completion of Rapid event at Grand Chess Tour 2026 Super Rapid and Blitz Croatia.

Praggnanandhaa bounces back with a hat-trick of wins

Both R Praggnanandhaa and the World Champion scored a hat-trick on the final day of Rapid. Praggnanandhaa had a hat-trick of wins whereas for Gukesh, it was of draws.

Currently, Praggnanandhaa and Alireza Firouzja are at 12/18 each. They are closely followed by Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave at 11/18 each. World Champion, D Gukesh and Vincent Keymer are at 10/18 each.

R Praggnanandhaa proved to be too strong for Anish Giri | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Round 7: Saric – Praggnanandhaa: 0-2

The only time Ivan Saric (CRO, 2595) and R Praggnanandhaa (2690) played a rated Rapid game against each other was at the very same event last year in the very same round. Only the color was changed this time but the outcome was repeated. However, it was not easy. It was a back and forth battle which could have gone either player’s way.

Position after 33…Ne4??

33…Ne4?? was a big mistake by Black. 34.Bxe4 would have been winning for White. Instead, he blundered 34.Nc6+?? Praggnanandhaa had no trouble seizing his advantage Rxc6!-+ and Black went on to win the game eventually.

R Praggnanandhaa started his third consecutive day with a win | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

European Individua Women 2026 Champion, Anastasiia Hnatyshyn (UKR) made the ceremonial first move of Round 7 of Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) and World Champion, D Gukesh’s board | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) and D Gukesh played a hard-fought draw | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Round 8: Praggnanandhaa – Deac: 2-0

Last year, R Praggnanandhaa (2690) lost to Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU, 2613) at a Grand Chess Tour Rapid event. This time, Deac crumbled in just 24 moves.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) ended Firouzja’s unbeaten run at this event | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Alireza Firouzja (FRA) and D Gukesh played a hard-fought draw | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Round 9: Giri – Praggnanandhaa: 0-2

Anish Giri (NED, 2664) and R Praggnanandhaa (2690) played two rated Rapid games at Grand Chess Tour. Praggnanandhaa won one and the other ended in a draw.

Position after 33.Qa5

Find out the beautiful finish executed by Praggnanandhaa after 33.Qa5. With this win, Praggnanandhaa finished at the top after the Rapid event with Firouzja, 12/18 each.

R Praggnanandhaa scored a hat-trick of wins to finish at the top of Rapid with Alireza Firouzja (FRA) | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Interview with R Praggnanandhaa | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Interview with Nodirbek Abdusattorov| Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Interview with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Round 9 in progress | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Jorden van Foreest (NED) makes the first move of a side Women’s event of Grand Chess Tour Super Rapid and Blitz Croatia 2026 | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Replay live stream

Replay Round 7-9 live commentary by GMs Yasser Seirawan, Cristian Chirila, & Maurice Ashley, IM Nazi Paikidze, and WGM Anastasiya Karlovich | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Schedule and Format

Super Rapid and Blitz will have three rounds per day in the Rapid portion from 1st to 3rd July. The Blitz event will take place on 4th and 5th July. It will be a double round-robin event for the Blitz which means nine rounds will be played on each day. Round 1 starts at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control for Rapid will be 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment. For Blitz it is, 5 minutes + 2 seconds increment.