Reinforcing his growing stature, R. Praggnanandhaa stunned World No. 4 Alireza Firouzja 2.5-1.5 and joined World champion Magnus Carlen and two others as the winners on the opening day of the $210 FTX Crypto Cup rapid chess tournament in Miami on Monday, August 15, 2022.
In the second major event on the $1.6 million Meltwaters Champions Chess Tour, which offers a $100,000 Bitcoin bonus in the eight-player all-play-all event, Praggnanandhaa won the first and third games with white pieces, lost the second with black and drew the fourth. The victory in the best-of-four games earned Praggnanandhaa three points, worth $7,500.
In the day’s other matches at the Eden Roc Miami Beach Hotel, Carlsen defeated Anish Giri 3-1 after winning the last two games, Jan-Krzysztof Duda blanked Hans Nieman 3-0 and Levon Aronian overcame Le Quang Liem 2.5-1.5 by riding on the first-game victory with white pieces.
