Alireza Firouzja Clinches Sinquefield Cup 2024

French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja emerged as the champion at the Sinquefield Cup 2024 after drawing his final game with Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa. Firouzja remained undefeated throughout the tournament. Defending champion Fabiano Caruana secured second place, while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Nodirbek Abdusattorov shared third place.

French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja drew his final game with Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa to emerge as the champion at the Sinquefield Cup and clinch the Grand Chess Tour 2024.

Winning three games and drawing the remaining six, Firouzja remained undefeated throughout the event.

Defending champion Fabiano Caruana, who had appeared to be the runaway favorite, had to settle for second place despite his final-round victory over Holland's Anish Giri. The third place was shared by France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov, both of whom delivered inspired final-round performances to defeat China's Ding Liren and Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi, respectively.

Caruana finished with 5.5 points, while the third-place finishers each scored five points. Indian players Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh tied for fifth on a fifty percent score, each ending with nine draws, which bodes well for the upcoming chess Olympiad just a fortnight away.

(With inputs from agencies.)