Bengaluru: R Praggananandhaa will take on world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana in the Grand Chess Tour final. The 21-year-old Indian grandmaster defeated Vincent Keymer 19-9 in the semi-finals on Sunday while Caruana got the better of fellow American Wesley So to set up a summit clash.Indian chess grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa looks on during the draw ceremony for the upcoming Tata Steel Chess India tournament in Kolkata on January 6, 2026. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP) (AFP)So and Keymer will play the third-place match.In the classical portion of the semi-final, the first game ended in a draw after Pragg outplayed Keymer but couldn’t convert it into a win. In the second game, the Indian won after Keymer blundered from a winning position.Seemingly shaken by the manner of his loss, Keymer started the Rapid portion of their match with three losses in a row. Pragg won the match with four games to spare, although the four Blitz games were played anyway.Speaking about his final against Caruana, Pragg said: “We’ve had some crazy matches in the past, so it’s going to be interesting. We’ll see, I mean it’s going to be a close fight and who’s going to show up at their best on the given day is going to take it.”Caruana who won his semi-final against So with a tighter scoreline – 18-12 – than Pragg, goes in as defending champion. “It is clear he’s (Pragg) a player who takes a lot of risks, and he’ll give you chances, and he’ll also punish you if you don’t take those chances. That’s the kind of player that I play against... but I am very happy to be in the Final,” Caruana said.