Pragg and Aronian grab full points
The opening round of the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis produced two decisive results and set the tone for what promises to be an engaging event. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu claimed the biggest win of the day by defeating reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, while Levon Aronian overcame Nodirbek Abdusattorov with the black pieces. The remaining encounters were drawn, though some carried considerable tension.
Praggnanandhaa’s victory over Gukesh was of particular significance. The 20-year-old Indian grandmaster outplayed his compatriot in a game where Gukesh faltered early, leaving his development incomplete. By the time his pieces were ready for action, Pragg had already consolidated a commanding position.
This result marked Pragg’s first classical win against Gukesh since April 2022, breaking a streak of over three years without such a victory in their head-to-head encounters. With this result, his live rating rose to 2784, placing him third in the live world rankings.
The historical balance between the two colleagues and friends had previously favoured Gukesh. Before this game, their 14 classical meetings included only two victories for Pragg, three for Gukesh and seven draws.
Praggnanandhaa 1-0 Gukesh
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Crystal Fuller
The other decisive game of the round saw Levon Aronian defeat Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Entering with a slight rating disadvantage, the US grandmaster made the most of his chances to extend his positive classical record against the Uzbek star. Out of their five encounters, Aronian has now won three, with the remaining two ending in draws.
Following his victory at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz event, the result confirmed Aronian’s run of good form.
A pawn down and in heavy time pressure, with 5 minutes to his opponent’s 37, Abdusattorov faltered with the ambitious 27.Ng5
White could have restored material balance by force with 27.Qxh7+ Kxh7 28.Nf6+ Kg7 29.Nxd5 cxd5 30.Bd4+ f6 31.Rxe8 Rxe8 32.Bxf5, with equality.
Abdusattorov apparently wanted to get more with his initiative, as there followed 27…Nxg5 28.Rxf5, when 28…gxf5 only leads to equality after 29.Qg5+ Kf8, and White can give a perpetual check. However, Black did not capture immediately and went for 28…Qd6 instead, which is good but not the strongest move in the position – 28…Qb3 is much stronger.
Black has tactical ideas connected to capturing on e3 and playing …Bb6, as White’s king turned out to be the weaker of the two monarchs in this position. As the game progressed, Abdusattorov faltered a few times amid the complications, which surely had to do with his being so short on time.
Aronian managed to end the game in style on move 41.
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41…Bxh2 prompted White’s resignation. The upcoming discovered check is deadly.
Levon Aronian defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov in an enthralling, double-edged encounter | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Elsewhere, Sam Sevian nearly made a breakthrough against Wesley So. A misstep by So gave Sevian a clear opportunity, but he was unable to identify the critical continuation. The chance slipped away, and the game eventually concluded peacefully.
With the other games of the round ending in draws, Pragg and Aronian emerged as the early leaders after day one.
Wesley So | Photo: Crystal Fuller
The playing hall | Photo: Crystal Fuller
