Praggnanandhaa Unstoppable on day 2 | Clutch Chess 2026

Fire in those eyes. Pragg fired on day 2 of Clutch Chess Champions Showdown | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Round 4

Pragg began the day at the bottom of the table, and his first opponent was Javokhir Sindarov, the man who will challenge D. Gukesh for the World Championship. Pragg had Black, and the game came down to a time scramble with both players living on the five-second increment.

Sindarov vs Pragg, Day 2 Game 1

On move 36, Sindarov played 36.Ra1?, eyeing a check on a8. Pragg had just seven seconds on his clock, and that is exactly when he found the move of the game: 36...Qd5! The queen comes to the centre and stops Ra8+ in its tracks. After 37.Rf1, Pragg struck with 37...Qxe5+, and after 38.Kh1 Qe4+ 39.Kh2 Rc2 it was all over. Finding such a precise idea with seconds on the clock is not easy. Hats off!

Pragg scored the first win of the day, but it's not easy to contain Javokhir! | Photo: Lennart Ootes

But Sindarov does not stay down for long. In the return game Pragg had White against the King's Indian, went for h3 and Bg5 and castled queenside.

Pragg vs Sindarov, Day 2, Game 2

The position got messy, and after 26.a3? Nb3+ Black's knights began to dance around the white king. The clock made it worse: by move 40 Pragg had nine seconds left to Sindarov's two and a half minutes, and 40.Rh5?? allowed 40...Rxf2, after which mate could not be stopped. Honours even in the first match of the day. On the other board, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana drew both their games.

1-1 is the score after two hard fought encounters! | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Round 5

Next up was Hikaru Nakamura, who had not lost a single game in the event so far. Hikaru played an amazing game to completely outplay Pragg from the opening. But in time pressure, both players were under 15 seconds and Hikaru blundered.

Pragg vs Hikaru, Day 2 Game 1

Hikaru had a better position here and could have played ...Rb2. But instead he went Kh7?? and simply blundered Qxd7, thereby losing the game.

In the second game Pragg had Black in a Sicilian. Hikaru sacrificed a pawn in the middlegame, Pragg took it and never really let it go. The onus was now on Hikaru to prove the compensation. He flinched and played b4?

Pragg vs Hikaru, Day 2, Game 2

...Ra8!! What a beautiful move! Defending the a5 pawn and also focusing on the a4 pawn weakness!

Two wins over Hikaru in one round meant four points in the bag for Pragg. On the other board, Caruana beat Sindarov in the first game and drew the second.

The tournament was going well for Hikaru, but losing 2 in a row to Pragg was not part of the plan | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Round 6

Pragg's final opponent of the day was Fabiano Caruana, and the first game was a 77-move marathon. It began as a Queen's Gambit Declined, Caruana gave up the exchange on c5 and won material back. It seemed like the position was even when Fabi made a huge mistake.

Caruana vs Pragg, Day 2 Game 1

The biggest problem with the move Bd4 is that it allows Rd8 to pin the bishop on d4. Once that happened, Pragg was completely better and went on to win the game!

Pragg had White in the second game, and Caruana found counterplay with ...Rxf2. The game ended in a repetition on move 34. On the other board, Sindarov and Nakamura drew both their games.

Four wins, one draw and one loss on a day when every win counted double: 9 points out of a possible 12. Pragg went from last place on 2 points to the sole lead on 11. Sindarov and Caruana are on 8.5 and Nakamura on 8, and on the final day every win is worth three points, so nothing is decided yet. Can Pragg hold on? We will find out tonight!