Fabiano Caruana, the world's second-ranked chess player, successfully defended his Superbet Classic title by winning all three rapid games in a thrilling four-way tiebreaker, which included Indian Grandmasters D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa, following a relatively uneventful tournament.
The classical section of the competition was blown wide open when Caruana lost to Anish Giri of Holland, resulting in a four-way tie for first place between Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, France's Alireza Firouzja and Caruana.
Praggnanandhaa narrowly escaped defeat against Alireza, who maintained a winning position for a considerable time. Had the Frenchman won the final classical round, he would have surpassed Caruana on points, eliminating the need for tiebreak games.
However, with Caruana's loss and Gukesh & Praggnanandhaa's draw, a four-way tiebreaker was necessary to determine the winner.
Caruana, not typically known for his tiebreaker prowess, demonstrated his ability to outperform the younger generation by defeating all three opponents – Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Alireza – to emerge victorious and claim the first prize of USD 68,500.
The tiebreaker proved challenging for the two Indians, with Gukesh having room for improvement and Praggnanandhaa missing opportunities to complicate matters, while Caruana performed flawlessly.
In an earlier round, Praggnanandhaa faced the prospect of his first defeat in the tournament against Alireza, who had a clear advantage. The Indian encountered difficulties in the middle game, sacrificing a rook for a minor piece, but fought until the end to salvage a seemingly lost position.
Meanwhile, Gukesh's game against Wesley So ended in a draw after just 22 moves, with the American finding no confidence in the Nimzo Indian defense, leading to a repetition of moves.
Results final round (courtesy PTI report)
Anish Giri (Ned, 4.5) beat Fabiano Caruana (5); Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5) drew with R Praggnaanandhaa (Ind. 5); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rom, 3.5) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 4.5); Wesley So (USa, 4) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 5);; Ian Nepomnichtchi (Fid, 4.5) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5)
