India, Aug. 19 -- Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France to move into a joint lead alongside American Wesley So after the eighth and penultimate round of the Sinquefield Cup here.

The victory took Praggnanandhaa to five points from eight games and assured the Indian Grandmaster of a place in the Grand finale scheduled for later this year.

Wesley played out another draw, this time against compatriot Sam Sevian, allowing Praggnanandhaa to catch him at the top of the standings.

Javokhir Sindarov moved within striking distance of the leaders after securing his third consecutive victory. The Uzbek defeated Jorden van Foreest of the Netherlands to move to 4.5 points.

German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer also rea...