Praggnanandhaa Secures Second Place at Sinquefield Cup, Qualifies for Grand Chess Tour Final

Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa, American GM Wesley So, and other top contenders concluded the Sinquefield Cup 2026 in St. Louis on Wednesday, with So claiming the title after defeating Praggnanandhaa in the Armageddon tie-breaker.

Tournament Outcome

Praggnanandhaa drew with Anish Giri in the final Classical game, leading to a tie-break against So. After two drawn rapid games, So secured the win in the Armageddon game, playing with black pieces.

Standings and Qualifications

• Wesley So – Winner
• R. Praggnanandhaa – Runner-up (qualified for Grand Chess Tour final)
• Javokhir Sindarov – Joint-third (missed qualification by half a point)

Praggnanandhaa’s second-place finish ensured his spot in the Grand Chess Tour final, set to begin on August 22, alongside So, Fabiano Caruana, and Vincent Keymer.

Other Notable Performances

Tan Zhongyi won the Cairns Cup despite a final round loss. India’s Divya Deshmukh finished tied-fifth, and R. Vaishali placed tenth.

Source

This report is based on information published by Sportstar (The Hindu) — Chess.

Official source: https://sportstar.thehindu.com/chess/praggnanandhaa-sinquefield-cup-results-final-round-grand-chess-tour-final-news/article71367866.ece