Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh lose in tiebreaker; Caruana wins title
Bucharest (Romania) (PTI): World number two Fabiano Caruana defended his Superbet Classic title by winning all three rapid games in a thrilling four-way tiebreaker, featuring Indian Grandmasters D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa, after a rather dull tournament.
Caruana lost to Anish Giri of Holland in the Classical format to split the competition wide open as Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and France's Alireza Firouzja all finished the classical section tied for first.
Praggnanandhaa survived by the skin of the teeth against Alireza, who held a completely winning position for a long time. If the Frenchman had won the final classical round there would have been no need of tiebreak games as he would have overtaken Caruana on points.
But Caruana lost, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa drew and that set up a four-way tiebreaker to decide the winner.
Caruana, not known as a tiebreaker master, proved that he can get the better of the younger generation as he defeated all three –- Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Alireza to come up trumps and win the first prize hamper of USD 68500.
The tiebreaker saw the two Indians on the backfoot. Gukesh could have done better but Caruana was spot on while Praggnanandhaa could have complicated things.
Earlier, Praggnanandhaa was staring at his first defeat in the tournament as Alireza was clearly on top.
The Indian struggled in the middle game and had to part with a rook for a minor piece but fought till the last to salvage a lost a position.
Gukesh played out a draw with Wesley So in a mere 22 moves, the Nimzo Indian defense did not give any confidence to the American and the draw was through repetition of moves.
Results final round: Anish Giri (Ned, 4.5) beat Fabiano Caruana (5); Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5) drew with R Praggnaanandhaa (Ind. 5); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rom, 3.5) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 4.5); Wesley So (USa, 4) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 5);; Ian Nepomnichtchi (Fid, 4.5) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5).
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Three footballers of Indian origin named in squads for FIFA World Cup 2026
New Delhi: Three footballers of Indian origin have been named in preliminary or final squads for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, scheduled to be held across the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
According to a report published by Mathrubhumi, Sarpreet Singh was included in the New Zealand national football team squad which was announced on Wednesday.
Born in Auckland to Indian parents, Singh was eligible to represent India through his family roots but chose to play for New Zealand. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder made his senior international debut in 2018 and has since become a regular member of the national side.
Singh has made 26 appearances for New Zealand and has scored three goals while providing seven assists.
Julen Lopetegui has included two players of Indian origin: Niall Mason and Tahsin Mohammed, in Qatar’s selections for the tournament.
Mason, a defender whose mother is Indian, previously trained in the youth academies of Real Madrid, Southampton FC and Aston Villa FC. Although he received his first senior call-up earlier this year, the Qatar defender is yet to make his senior international debut.
Tahsin Mohammed, 19, was born to parents from Kerala’s Kannur district. His father Jamshid is from Thalassery, while his mother Shaima belongs to Valapattanam. The winger became the first player of Indian origin to feature in the Qatar Stars League, Qatar’s premier domestic football competition.
Mohammed has made two appearances for the senior Qatar side, including in a World Cup qualifier against Afghanistan in June 2024.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by United States, Mexico and Canada.
