Sweet Revenge: Praggnanandhaa Topples World Title Challenger Sindarov in Bucharest
R Praggnanandhaa took a sweet revenge against World Championship Challenger Javokhir Sindarov in the 2nd round of Super Chess Classic 2026. In the FIDE Candidates, Sindarov defeated Praggnanandhaa in both games they played. Despite that result, this was a great win for Pragg. In another decisive result, Vincent Keymer defeated Bogdan Daniel Deac, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave won against Alireza Firouzja. After 1st peaceful day, now the games are getting more interesting and exciting for viewers as well as players. The 3rd round will start on 16th May at 4 PM Local Time/ 6:30 PM IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes
Sacrifice or a Blunder?
This was the 3rd classical clash between Javokhir Sindarov and R Praggnanandhaa within two months. When the two players faced each other in the FIDE Candidates 2026, Sindarov emerged victorious in both games, sacrificing material in each. Here in Bucharest, he repeated the same things and sacrificed a knight. Pragg defended the position properly and managed to win the game.
Check out the games!
Now we will bring you all the action from this round.
Javokhir Sindarov vs. R. Praggnanandhaa (0-1)
This was the 1st clash between Sindarov and Pragg after the Candidates 2026. The game was anticipated to be an interesting one, and both players delivered. On the 11th move itself, Sindarov decided to castle on the queen's side to play an attacking game. Check out what happened after that
Interesting position after 17.Bc2, white is launching an attack on the Black's king using his queen. Can you find the move that Pragg played to stop white's Idea? (Hint: Prophylaxis)
Solve it here
Back-to-back in the 3rd game, Javokhir decided to sacrifice a piece against Praggnanandhaa, but this time it did not work as Pragg found the correct defending sequence.
In the post-game interview with ChessBase India, Pragg said, "I remembered more than he did, which is already enough!" talking about his preparation | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
The position was already very tricky for white and he needed to find the perfect resource to hold it, but Sindarov played 36.Re3, which turned out to be the game losing mistake as it allowed 36..Qg6 followed up with proper defence.
Vincent Keymer vs Bogdon Daniel Deac (1-0)
Vincent decided to play an interesting opening idea against Bogdon. Vincent played a doubled fianchetto position with the white side. In the middlegame, the game turned out into a very complex position. Check out the critical moment of the game
Vincent set up a trap by sacrificing his pawn on d5; the idea was to get more space on the king's side and exploit light squares. Bogdon fell for it and captured the pawn with his e-pawn, and after that, Vincent found a beautiful sequence of moves to finish the game. 47. Qf5 Qc8 48. Rf3 Rf8 49. Re3 Qd8 50. Re6 1-0
Here is a puzzle for the viewers
Alireza Firouzja vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (0-1)
It was an interesting battle of the pawn race between Alireza and MVL, playing with the black side. MVL showed incredible endgame skills to prove his advantage in Queen + Knight vs Queen + Bishop endgame. MVL's bishop dominated the board and helped him win the game.
Black's King is safer than white's king, and the f-pawn can simply get pushed. MVL converted the above position with ease to score a full point.
Replay Round 2 Games
Pairings and Results
Photo Gallery: ChessBase India, GCT
Video Gallery: ChessBase India
Line Up
Schedule
Prize Fund
The total prize fund for each of the Classical Events shall be Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($350,000), which shall be distributed as follows:
Format and Time Control
10-player Round Robin
90 minutes for 40 moves, and 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1.
Point System
1 point for a win, ½ point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss in all games.
Venue: National Bank of Romania Museum
Housed within the stunning Old Palace in Bucharest’s historic Lipscani district, the National Bank of Romania Museum offers a captivating journey through financial history. Visitors can explore one of the most significant numismatic collections in Central and Eastern Europe, featuring rare gold coins, antique banknotes, and the legendary National Treasure.
National Bank of Romania | Photo: Grand Chess TourImportant Links
Grand Chess Tour: Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube
Super Chess Classic Romania: Details, Results and Standings, Tickets
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