Indian chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa secured a third-place finish in the Tata Steel Chess India 2023 rapid event. Meanwhile, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the former World Blitz champion from France, continued to display his dominance by clinching the rapid title in his inaugural visit to India. Vachier-Lagrave finished at the top of the standings with seven points, significantly ahead of Teimour Radjabov, the 2019 World Cup star from Azerbaijan.French GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave thoroughly dominated the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid 2023 winning with a score of 7.0/9, a full 1.5 point ahead of the field. Second place went to Teimour Radjabov at 5.5/9 and Praggnanandhaa was 3rd with 5.0/9. What made this event very… pic.twitter.com/WOOjBeUmyp— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) September 7, 2023 Praggnanandhaa shared the third spot with Indias Vidit Gujrathi and Alexander Grischuk, each of them accumulating five points. Notably, Praggnanandhaa managed to secure two wins but faced a loss against Indias top-ranked player, D. Gukesh, in a highly anticipated match.Victories and redemptionPraggnanandhaa showcased his skills against Gujrathi by responding effectively to Gujrathis initial attack, eventually gaining a favorable position in the middle of the game. In another encounter, Praggnanandhaa capitalized on an opportunity to attack the opponents king in an evenly matched endgame, resulting in a checkmate on move 38.Gukesh outshines PraggnanandhaaThe eagerly awaited clash between Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa took place in the penultimate round, with Gukesh emerging victorious in a sharp game. Gukeshs queen-side pawns demonstrated their strength by advancing rapidly down the board, outpacing Praggnanandhaas central pawn. Gukesh ultimately secured the win by capturing a rook on move 45.However, Praggnanandhaa rebounded in the final round, establishing a comfortable advantage against the reigning rapid champion, Erigalsi, by tactically winning material on move 20. From that point on, the World Cup runner-up maintained control and clinched the victory on move 39.Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, a five-time champion of the Biel Grandmaster tournament, began his day with a victory over Indias Arjun.
