Grand Chess Tour: Praggnanandhaa storms into joint lead after in Zagreb

R Praggnanandhaa won all three of his games on the final day of the rapid section to catch France's Alireza Firouzja at the top of the standings in the Croatia leg of the Grand Chess Tour. World champion D Gukesh slipped to fifth after drawing all three games.

In Short

• R Praggnanandhaa won all three games on the final day of the rapid section
• The Indian Grandmaster joined Alireza Firouzja at the top on 12 points
• World champion D Gukesh slipped to fifth after drawing all three of his games

R Praggnanandhaa won all three of his games on the final day of the rapid section to catch France's Alireza Firouzja at the top of the standings in the Croatia leg of the Grand Chess Tour. World champion D Gukesh slipped to fifth after drawing all three games.

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa produced a flawless finish to the rapid section of the Croatia leg of the Grand Chess Tour, winning all three of his games on Saturday to climb into joint first place with France's Alireza Firouzja in Zagreb.

Praggnanandhaa began the final day trailing the leaders but ended it on 12 points after victories over Croatia's Ivan Saric, Romania's Deac Bogdan-Daniel and Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri.

The Indian's late surge saw him draw level with Firouzja at the top of the standings heading into the blitz section, where 18 more rounds will determine the overall champion.

France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov remained within touching distance on 11 points, while reigning world champion D Gukesh and Germany's Vincent Keymer were tied for fifth on 10 points.

Praggnanandhaa was in complete control against Saric in the opening game of the day. Playing the Caro-Kann Defence, the Indian built a superior position early and converted his advantage with patience to register his first victory.

He followed that up with an even more convincing display against Deac. Facing the Petroff Defence, Praggnanandhaa broke through the Romanian's position early, winning a piece before comfortably converting the material advantage.

The 19-year-old saved his best for the final round, defeating the ever-reliable Anish Giri in just 34 moves. After gaining a pawn from a Catalan Opening, Praggnanandhaa showcased precise tactical play to wrap up his third consecutive win and complete a perfect day.

While Praggnanandhaa surged up the leaderboard, Gukesh endured a quieter finish to the rapid section. The world champion drew all three of his games against Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Firouzja, losing ground in the race for the title.

The standings remain tightly packed heading into the blitz segment, with only two points separating the joint leaders from Gukesh in fifth place.

The blitz section, consisting of 18 rounds, begins next and is expected to play a decisive role in determining the champion of the Zagreb leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

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