Praggnanandhaa ends Grand Chess Tour Rapid Section as joint leader

R Praggnanandhaa produced a flawless finish to the rapid section of the Grand Chess Tour in Zagreb, winning all three of his games on Saturday to move into a share of the lead alongside France's Alireza Firouzja.

After trailing the frontrunners at the end of the second day, the Indian Grandmaster completed a remarkable comeback by defeating Croatia's Ivan Saric, Romania's Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri in successive rounds. The three victories lifted Praggnanandhaa to 12 points, level with Firouzja heading into the blitz phase of the tournament.

While Praggnanandhaa surged to the top, reigning world champion D Gukesh slipped slightly in the standings after drawing all three of his games against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Firouzja. He ended the rapid section with 10 points, tied with Keymer in fifth place.

Three straight wins put Praggnanandhaa back in title race

Praggnanandhaa began the day by outplaying Saric with the black pieces in a Caro-Kann Defence before dismantling Deac in an attacking display from the Petroff Defence. His final-round victory over Giri was equally convincing, as he converted a pawn advantage from a Catalan Opening into a win in just 34 moves.

Firouzja, who had held a commanding lead after the opening two days, was unable to extend his advantage, allowing Praggnanandhaa to draw level at the summit.

With the rapid section complete, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France and Abdusattorov sit one point behind the leaders on 11 points. Gukesh and Germany's Vincent Keymer remain well within contention on 10 points, with 18 blitz rounds still to be played over the final two days.

The combined rapid and blitz scores will determine the overall winner of the Zagreb leg of the Grand Chess Tour, leaving the title race finely poised despite Firouzja's early dominance.