Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa opened his Sinquefield Cup campaign with a 48-move draw against American counterpart Samuel Sevian in the first round of the penultimate event of the Grand Chess Tour. Playing with the black pieces, Praggnanandhaa gave little away in a controlled encounter that ended with the point shared.
The Indian grandmaster chose the Arkhangelsk variation of the Ruy Lopez and reached a comfortable position early. Sevian was not inclined to create major complications, while Praggnanandhaa’s preparation gave him an easy game as the board steadily simplified.
The draw represented a decent start for Praggnanandhaa in a 10-player, nine-round tournament carrying prize money of USD 475,000. With most of the opening-round games ending level, Fabiano Caruana was the only winner and moved into the early lead.
A smooth simplification for Praggnanandhaa
The Praggnanandhaa-Sevian game began to simplify quickly. By the 11th move, a pair of rooks had been exchanged, and further trades followed as the players moved into a queen-and-minor-piece endgame.
Both players eventually had two knights, making the position increasingly difficult to press for either side. Once the queens were exchanged as well, the draw was effectively assured. The game continued to 48 moves, although the position could have been agreed drawn earlier.
For Praggnanandhaa, the result came from a disciplined black-piece performance rather than a sharp battle. He neutralised the early phase, handled the exchanges without concession and reached an endgame in which neither player had a realistic route to a decisive advantage.
The opening round placed the Indian alongside several other players who started with draws. Javokhir Sindarov and Levon Aronian split the point, as did Vincent Keymer and Wesley So. Anish Giri also drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
Caruana takes the first-round advantage
Caruana, the top seed, emerged as the sole winner of the round after defeating Jorden Van Foreest. Their game had been even before Van Foreest overlooked a tactical detail and lost a pawn in the middlegame. Caruana converted the advantage with precision, securing the full point after 55 moves.
Elsewhere, Sindarov used an irregular queen-pawn setup with White against Aronian. Aronian lost a pawn, but the resulting endgame featured opposite-coloured bishops and was theoretically drawn. Keymer tried to attack So’s black king, but the attempt was stopped without difficulty. Giri and Vachier-Lagrave fought into a rook-and-pawn endgame before agreeing a draw.
Caruana’s victory gives him the early edge after one round, while Praggnanandhaa remains firmly in contention following a solid start. With eight rounds still to be played in the round-robin event, the Indian’s ability to remain secure with Black against Sevian provides a stable foundation for the rest of his Sinquefield Cup challenge.
