Rapid and Blitz competition, which is a part of the great chess tour, will begin here on Saturday, and Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa will be the center of attention as he faces a formidable field without Magnus Carlsen of Norway.
Since Carlsen’s absence following two decisive victories has left the field wide open, Praggnanandhaa, accompanied by his friend Aravindh Chithambaram, is among the front-runners for the title.
The Iranian-turned-French Alireza Firouzja begins as the hot bubble that is just waiting to burst, while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, his countryman, would like to continue the history that the French players have established over the past ten years.
It is still unclear who will win this year’s Grand Chess Tour, which is a series of competitions that reward points based on each performance, even though there are only two Indian competitors among the ten players. For the record, there is a total prize pool of $175,000 USD for the event, with the added incentive of sharing in the season-ending grand prize.
The Norwegian, who has been ranked 1 in the world since 2011, has turned his attention to Chess960, which has been renamed “Freestyle Chess.” He has been having incredible success, winning the last two tournaments he has entered in the previous two weeks.
Praggnanandhaa will be the player to keep an eye on because of his accuracy in speed chess, which has led to wins, including one against Carlsen on a few occasions.
Fans will be hoping for an encore from the Chennai magician after the Indian’s incredible performance in defeating world champion D. Gukesh at the Tata Steel Masters earlier this year.
The two most seasoned riders on the circuit, Levon Aronian and Veselin Topalov, are not likely to present the youthful cavalry with a significant threat.
