Super Chess Classic: Praggnanandhaa to take on Firouzja in opener

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa will take on Alireza Firouzja of France in the first round of the Super Chess Classic here, the first classical event of the year, which is as part of the Grand Chess tour.

Left as the lone Indian in the fray following the withdrawal of world champion D Gukesh from the classical format this year, Praggnanandhaa drew a favourable number and will get five white games out of nine rounds in the 10-player all-play-all event.

For the records, the total prize pool of the event is $3,50,000 with an additional $1,25,000 as bonus. The first prize is $1,00,000. The Indian is in need of an improved show following a mediocre outing in the last Candidates’ tournament in April and has dropped to number 16 in world rankings in live ratings.

Fabiano Caruana of the United States starts as the top seed and is slated to meet in-form Jorden van Foreest of Holland in the opener. Van Foreest had sensationally beaten world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the just-concluded Te Pe Sigeman chess tournament and has been quite consistent in recent times and is number 20 in world rankings.

After Gukesh withdrew from main events, the seat was offered to his world championship challenger, Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan just before the Candidates’ started. Little did anyone know that Sindarov would dominate the Candidates the way he did and earn himself the right to challenge Gukesh later this year.

Sindarov is currently the most dominating player in the elite circuit with his ability to play extreme complex positions. The Uzbek had won the World Cup in October last year, and had a decent start to 2026 in the Tata Steel Masters and then won the Candidates with an all-time best performance.

The Uzbek will be the cynosure of all eyes here and meets Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania.

Anish Giri of the Netherlands will meet Maxime Vachier Lagrave of France, who has had an impeccable record in the Grand Chess Tour. German Vincent Keymer, another feared opponent, is set to play against Wesley So of the United States.

For Praggnanandhaa, it’s a good draw and all that remains to be seen is if the Indian can find his winning ways.

Apart from Firouzja, Praggnanandhaa will have white games against Wesley So, Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave and Vincent Keymer and his duel against Sindarov will be in the second round, where the Uzbek will play white.

Pairings round 1: R Praggnanandhaa (IND) vs Alireza Firouzja (FRA): Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) vs Anish Giri (NED); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (ROU) vs Javokhir Sindarov (UZB); Wesley So (USA) vs Vincent Keymer (GER); Jorden Van Foreest (NED) vs Fabiano Caruana (USA).