Praggnanandhaa surges to joint-second, Gukesh endures rough opening at day one of Zagreb Grand Chess Tour

Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa finished joint-second in the rapid section on the opening day of the Zagreb Grand Chess Tour on Wednesday. Pragg is coming off a historic title victory at Norway Chess 2026 and has continued his fine form in the Croatian capital.

Reigning World Champion D Gukesh, however, endured a rough start at the chess event in Croatia.

Praggnanandhaa picks winning start in Zagreb

Praggnanandhaa opened his campaign with a victory over Germany's Vincent Keymer. While playing with white pieces, the 20-year-old sealed a win over Keymar, claiming two points in the rapid format.

Pragg went on an attacking spree against Keymer, launching his forces right at the opponent's king and cashed in on the full two points in just 26 moves.

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Following the opening-round victory over Keymer, Praggnanandhaa went on to seal a draw against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the second game of the day. The Indian GM also drew against world champion D Gukesh, securing a total of four points by the end of the day.

Gukesh stumbles but recovers well

World champion Gukesh suffered a loss in the day's opening round to Vachier-Lagrave, but his rhythm came back immediately as he made light work of Ivan Saric of Croatia in the second round.

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Gukesh is next in line along with Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania on three points, and these two are a full point ahead of Nodirbek Abduttorov of Uzbekistan.

Alireza Firouzja of France emerged as the sole leader on five points after winning his first two games and drawing with Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the third round.

With each rapid win worth two points, Firouzja moved ahead of Praggnanandhaa, Giri, Vachier-Lagrave and Keymer, who recovered from his opening-round defeat with two victories.

(With PTI Inputs)