R Praggnanandhaa Reacts To Big Win Over D Gukesh: 'After Long Wait Of Over 3 Years..'

Last Updated:August 19, 2025, 13:00 IST

Indian chess star R Praggnanandhaa celebrates beating world champion D Gukesh at Sinquefield Cup 2025, now sharing the lead with Levon Aronian.

R Praggnanandhaa beat D Gukesh in the opening round of Sinquefield Cup (Picture credit: X @rpraggnachess)

Star Indian chess player R Praggnanandhaa has said that he is glad to have beaten world champion D Gukesh after a long wait of over three years, expressing elation at his upbeat start at the Sinquefield Cup, an annual closed chess tournament held by the St Louis Chess Club in Missouri.

Praggnanandhaa now shares the lead with the unstoppable Levon Aronian of the United States, who outsmarted Nodirbek Abdusattarov of Uzbekistan after the first round on Monday.

With eight rounds still to come in the USD 350,000 prize money tournament, as many as six players share the third spot behind Praggnanandhaa and Aronian, while Gukesh and Abdusattorov are at the bottom of the heap, hoping to open their respective accounts in the next round.

“What a start to the Sinquefield Cup 2025. Managed to get my first classical win against Gukesh after a long wait of over 3 years. Always a tough opponent and someone I have huge respect for," Praggnanandhaa tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. 

Praggananandhaa faced the Queen’s gambit, accepted by Gukesh, who played with black pieces, as the former took full advantage of playing with white.

The solid approach was under scrutiny early, as Gukesh spent a lot of time in a known position and went for a dubious set-up that involved early exchange of queens.

Praggnanandhaa had the Bishop duo as playing with white pieces gave him a distinct advantage.

Making things worse for himself, Gukesh fell short of time and had to find some tough moves to stay in the match as well.

Relentless, as he is, Praggnanandhaa didn’t let the position slip out of hand as he won a pawn by force and the rest was easy. The match lasted just 36 moves.

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August 19, 2025, 13:00 IST

News sports R Praggnanandhaa Reacts To Big Win Over D Gukesh: 'After Long Wait Of Over 3 Years..'

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