Pragg reigns Supreme in Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz!
Sagar talks about Praggnanandhaa winning the GCT St. Louis Rapid and Blitz 2026.
From the CEO
The biggest news of the week was R Praggnanandhaa winning the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz. And he did it ahead of a seriously strong field - World Championship Challenger Javokhir Sindarov, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Vincent Keymer and several other world-class players. Pragg led from day one to day five and never let go, finishing on 23.5/36, a clear 1.5 points ahead of Sindarov. It is his first Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz title, and by his own assessment, the best rapid and blitz performance of his career.
After the event ended I managed to interview him, and we went through the games together. We spoke about many of his remarkable decisions at the board.
This is Pragg practising on an ordinary day. His coach RB Ramesh is not in the frame. On his left is Aravindh Chithambaram, and on his right is Pranesh.
One of the things Ramesh has managed to inculcate in these 3 boys is the joy of working on chess. The photo was taken the day after the Chennai Grand Masters ended. That was the tournament where Pranesh beat Gukesh.
You have just played seven super grandmasters across a gruelling week. Anyone would want to switch off for a few days. And there was Pranesh, back in the academy, working. The same is true of Pragg. He not only enjoys his victories but also the day to day work to improve at chess.
So when Pragg defends an absolutely insane pawn endgame against Sindarov - using distant opposition as the defensive theme, with four seconds left on his clock - it does not surprise me at all. The guy loves the process. Results are important, of course they are. But enjoying the process is just as important if not more.
Creating the right environment to be able to enjoy the process may be one of the most valuable things you can do in your life, whichever domain you happen to work in. Whether you are a doctor, an accountant, an engineer or a student, it would be a fantastic thing if you could work out which day to day processes deserve your attention, and then find a way to make them more enjoyable. Players like Praggnanandhaa, Pranesh and Aravindh have managed exactly that.
Once you take care of the process, once you take care of the journey, the destination is bound to be reached.
On that note, I hope Pragg reaches another beautiful destination over the next few days. He plays the Sinquefield Cup, which begins on Monday, 10th August. After Norway Chess, a classical event, and now the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, a rapid and blitz event, he has clearly established himself as one of the best all-round players in the world. But maybe for Pragg it is no big deal, good result or bad, you will find him at the academy anyway after! :) - Sagar Shah
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
IMPROVE YOUR PIECES WITH RB RAMESH!
One of the most effective ways to improve your chess understanding is to know where your pieces belong and how to adapt when the board situation changes. When there’s no forced tactics, one must formulate a plan for what to do. Instead of looking for a win or advantage, it’s often easier to identify a piece that can improve its position and function. Even improving your worst piece is a simple concept that avoids assessment insecurity.
And who better to learn from, than one of the best trainers in the world? RB Ramesh has trained thousands of chess players including the top players in the world. He’s the trainer of rising Indian prodigy Praggnanandhaa, and he helps many improving Indian Juniors attain the highest level. He has carefully selected examples that underline the importance of regrouping your pieces and giving you rules of thumb which are easy to remember.
Today, we have a very special offer on RB Ramesh’s Improve your pieces - a winning system you need to know. Use the Coupon code “RB10IMPROVE” to get a 10% discount - the offer is valid till 16th August!
LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK
R. Praggnanandhaa Wins Grand Chess Tour Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026
R Praggnanandhaa played tremendous chess at Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz to win the tournament with a round to spare. On the final day, Praggnanandhaa scored 3 wins and won the tournament with a draw against Javokhir Sindarov in the penultimate round. This is Pragg’s 1st Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz Title. Pragg drew his final game against Levon Aronian to finish with 23.5/36 points. En route to his victory, Pragg lost only 2 of the 27 games he played, including both Rapid & Blitz. Photos: Lennart Ootes
“This is my best Rapid and Blitz performance ever!” R. Praggnanandhaa
R Praggnanandhaa has won the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2026, leading from day one to day five and never letting go. It is, by his own assessment, the strongest Rapid and Blitz showing of his career. In this in-depth interview, he takes us through the ambitious c5 that Levon Aronian played against him, the quiet Qb2 that cost Fabiano Caruana the game, the opening idea he liked so much he made a note to reuse it, the antidote to the French Defence that Jorden Van Foreest had prepared, and the thrilling finale with Javokhir Sindarov. Photo: Lennart Ootes
Get on the ChessRanga Tactics Leaderboard!
Want to solve Chess tactics from real-life games and compare your progress with others? In ChessRanga, we have now introduced Tactics Trainer - login, keep solving everyday to keep your weekly streak, check your spot in the weekly and all-time leaderboard, and track your progress with solved statistics!
This is how the Tactics trainer page looks like - solve tactics to earn XP, maintain your weekly streak, and climb up the tactics leaderboard!
This is how the tactics leaderboard looks like right now - these are the top 10 solvers in ChessRanga Tactics Trainer so far!
And here is one exercise to solve for you - take a shot at the Tactic of the day. What did Adhiban play here - this is a 3-star difficulty puzzle!
Pune Chess Hangouts Finds a Saturday Home at The Habitat
Pune’s chess scene just levelled up! Pune Chess Hangouts is launching a brand-new weekly fixture: a dedicated Saturday Chess Club at The Habitat in Mundhwa, running every weekend from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. This gives the city its very first consistent Saturday evening hub for chess enthusiasts. Founded in early 2024 by Sanjana Desai and Chaitanya Bidkar, Pune Chess Hangouts started as a modest gathering of a few players. Under Sanjana’s leadership as Founder and Community Head, it has rapidly expanded into one of the city’s most vibrant chess hubs, boasting over 1,000 members and a track record of more than 250 weekend meetups across Pune.
Double Gold for India! Harika Dronavalli Dominates Asian Women’s Rapid & Blitz Championships 2026
Indian Legend Harika Dronavalli clinched double gold at the Asian Women’s Rapid & Blitz Championships 2026. Harika scored 8.5/11 points to win the Rapid, remaining unbeaten throughout the event. In Blitz, she scored 10.5/13 points to clinch Gold. Her historic double-gold performance brought home two trophies and a total cash prize of 33,000 HKD. The Tournament was organised from 28th to 30th July at the TWGHs Tungpo Kitty Woo Stadium in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
If you enjoy our work, please review us on Google.