Top News

GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa qualified for the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) Finals for the first time after a runner-up finish at the 2025 Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, on Wednesday.

Praggnanandhaa played out a draw in the final round against Levon Aronian of the USA to confirm his place in the GCT Finals, securing a fourth-place finish on the 2025 GCT circuit with 30 circuit points.

This draw also resulted in a shared first-place finish with 5.5 points after nine rounds for Praggnanadhaa, along with Americans Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So, leading to a tiebreaker to determine the champion.

In the tiebreaks, the Indian had a brilliant start and outclassed Fabiano Caruana in an Italian game, registering a dominating victory in 33 moves to gain the early advantage in the tiebreaks.

However, Wesley So dashed Praggnanandhaa’s title hopes with a victory in the second tiebreak round and secured the championship with a draw against Caruana in the final round.

This was Pragg’s third podium finish of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour Circuit after a title win at Superbet Chess Classic Romania and a third-place finish at Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland.

His outstanding performances across the GCT Circuit have also made him the season’s prize money leader, accumulating $178,334.

Now, he will head to the Grand Chess Tour Finals in São Paulo, Brazil, from September 27 to October 3, where the top four players of the 2025 season will fight for the coveted 2025 GCT Crown.