India, May 16 -- India's R Praggnanandhaa clinched the Superbet Classic title in Romania after prevailing in a dramatic three-way tie-break, edging out Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja in blitz deciders. The 18-year-old Indian grandmaster held his nerve in the final game against MVL, sealing a memorable win in the opening leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

In the blitz tiebreaks, the first two clashes - Praggnanandhaa vs Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave vs Firouzja - ended in tightly contested draws, leaving the title hanging in the balance. It was in the decisive third game that Praggnanandhaa stepped, defeating Vachier-Lagrave to win the title.

Earlier in the day, Praggnanandhaa played out a solid draw against American veteran Levon ...