India No.1 R Praggnanandhaa had a dream begin to the Sinquefield Cup Chess event when he defeated world champion D Gukesh within the first spherical. The victory helped Pragg rise to the third place in reside world rankings. Reacting to his win, Praggnanandhaa stated that Gukesh had appeared a bit unsettled from the beginning.
“I feel it was a easy sport. It was shocking from him as a result of it appeared like he was off at the beginning, like he spent a lot time at a theoretical place and this endgame is simply disagreeable for him. It began to worsen and worse. I suppose his final likelihood was to take the pawn on b4 however I feel it nonetheless must be profitable and I feel it’s a very good sport to start out with.
Praggananandhaa confronted the Queen’s gambit accepted by Gukesh who performed with black items. The strong method was below the scrutiny early as Gukesh spent a variety of time in a recognized place and went for a doubtful set-up that concerned early change of queens.
Pragg scores his first-ever victory within the Sinquefield Cup and it comes in opposition to Gukesh! Not solely is that this his first win within the occasion after making 9 attracts final yr, but in addition his first victory over Gukesh prior to now three years. Watch the interview to be taught extra particulars!… pic.twitter.com/oNLXpjieLx
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) August 18, 2025
Praggnanandhaa had the Bishop pair as taking part in with white items gave him a definite benefit.
Making issues worse for himself, Gukesh additionally fell wanting time and needed to discover some actually tough strikes to remain within the sport.
Relentless, as he’s, Praggnanandhaa didn’t let the place slip out of hand as he gained a pawn by power and the remaining was straightforward. The sport lasted simply 36 strikes.
In different matches, Levon Aronian of United States outsmarted Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan after the opening spherical on Monday and is tied with Pragg on third.
Fabiano Caruana of USA performed out a draw with Duda Jan-Kryzstof of Poland whereas wild card Samuel Savian cut up the purpose with American country-mate Wesley So whereas Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France additionally drew with one other Frenchman Alireza Firouzja. With eight rounds nonetheless to come back within the USD 350,000 prize cash event, as many as six gamers share the third spot behind Praggnanandhaa and Aronian whereas Gukesh and Abdusattorov are on the backside of the heap hoping to open their respective accounts within the subsequent spherical.
By the way with this victory, Praggnanandhaa additionally restored parity with Gukesh in classical format through which each have three wins every. “Final yr, I tousled some good positions in opposition to him, I feel I didn’t beat him (in classical) for nearly two years now, so lastly it’s good to get a win,” famous Praggnanandhaa.
(With company inputs)
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