St. Louis, August 28 (HS):

American Grandmaster Wesley So emerged victorious at the Sinquefield Cup 2025, edging past India’s R. Praggnanandhaa and fellow American Fabiano Caruana in a dramatic three-way playoff on Wednesday.

Praggnanandhaa, who had led the standings overnight, produced a stellar tournament but narrowly missed out on the crown, settling for second place. Caruana finished third after a tense finale.

In the ninth and final round of the classical event, Praggnanandhaa and Caruana were both held to draws by Levon Aronian and D. Gukesh, respectively. This gave So the opening he needed, as he defeated Uzbekistan’s rising star Nodirbek Abdusattorov to force a playoff for the title.

The playoff, contested among the three co-leaders, began with Praggnanandhaa outclassing Caruana with White pieces to move within touching distance of the trophy. But in the decisive next game, the young Indian faltered against So, who seized the chance to take control.

Holding Caruana to a draw in the final playoff encounter, Wesley So sealed his second Sinquefield Cup title, further bolstering his reputation as one of the most consistent elite players on the global chess circuit.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar