The 16-year-old Praggnanandhaa will face China's Wei Yi in the quarterfinals.
Digital Desk: The young Indian Chess Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa booked a spot in the quarterfinals of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Chessable Masters 2022 online tournament by defeating compatriot and GM Vidit Gujrathi
The teenage GM eliminated Gujrathi from contention after winning the 15th and last round of the preliminary round late on Sunday.
The 16-year-old Praggnanandhaa will face China's Wei Yi in the quarterfinals.
Praggnanandhaa, who created a stir by defeating world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the sixth round, finished fourth with 25 points, behind Anish Giri (Netherlands), Carlsen (28 points), and Ding Liren (27 points) (China, 25 points).
It may be mentioned that a few months ago, he had also defeated the Norwegian in an online event for the first time.
Notably, P Harikrishna and Gujrathi, the other two Indian players in the 16-player field, finished outside the top 8 and could not make it to the knockout bracket. Gujrathi (17 points) finished 11th, while the experienced Harikrishna claimed the ninth position with 18 points.
Praggnanandhaa scored an impressive win over American Abhimanyu Mishra, the world's youngest Grandmaster, in 41 moves before settling for a draw against another US player Sam Shankland, in rounds 13 and 14, respectively.
In the game against Gujrathi, the teenage GM capitalised on an error on the 35th move to force a win.
Praggnanandhaa also defeated fast-improving Dutch GM Jorden Van Foreest and Eric Hansen in the preliminary rounds. He concluded the season with eight victories, four losses, and three draws.
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