Praggnanandhaa swept Friday's rapid rounds with three consecutive wins to pull level with Firouzja atop the Zagreb Super Rapid & Blitz standings. Pragg defeated Saric, Deac, and Giri in succession, a clean run that brought him to 12 points and erased the gap he faced earlier in the tournament.
Firouzja holds the same 12-point total after his own rapid performances. The two share the lead heading into the blitz section, where the tournament's complexion will shift entirely. Blitz demands different calculations and rewards aggression in ways rapid chess cannot.
Vachier-Lagrave and Abdusattorov trail by a single point at 11, close enough that the blitz rounds could shuffle the final standings dramatically. Pragg's three-game tear demonstrates the kind of form that can carry momentum into the faster time control. Whether he sustains this rhythm against Firouzja and the rest of the field in blitz remains the open question. The format change often scrambles established hierarchies.