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R Praggnanandhaa won in the tie-breaker to get the better of world champion D Gukesh and clinch his maiden Tata Steel Chess tournament in the Netherlands recently.
R Praggnanandhaa (left) poses with the Tata Steel Chess trophy after arriving at Chennai Airport. (PTI Photo)
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa arrived in Chennai on Tuesday following his epic victory over fellow Indian and world champion D Gukesh in the Tata Steel Masters. Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh squared off in tiebreakers to decide the winner after finishing with 8.5 points each having lost their respective 13th-round games.
Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) officials greeted the 19-year-old at the Chennai airport.
#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) officials welcome Chess Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa as he arrives at the Chennai Airport from the Netherlands.Praggnanandhaa won the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament in the Netherlands on 2… pic.twitter.com/erDSrVS53C
— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2025
Praggnanandhaa lost to Vincent Keymer of Germany while Gukesh lost to compatriot Arjun Erigaisi meaning both finished on 8.5 points each.
In the tie-breaker, Gukesh took the lead before Praggnanandhaa bounced back to win 2-1.
“It was very long, close to eight hours, the first game itself lasted like 6.5 hours and then we had this blitz, it was a crazy day,” Praggnanandhaa said after his maiden triumph at the event.
“This is a very special event in the chess world, and I have seen games from this tournament growing up. Last year, it did not go my way, so I was really motivated for this tournament. I think it showed in my play that I was quite ambitious in all the games trying to fight, that’s why we saw many decisive games,” he added.
Praggnanandhaa won six matches, lost two and drew five games during his campaign.
“I knew what went wrong in the last six months and I knew what I needed to work on. I will keep trying to get better at it. I changed some things for this tournament (in my play), and it worked,” he said.
Praggnanandhaa is the first Indian to win the title since the legendary Viswananathan Anand who won the title five times (1989, 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2006).
This is the second year in a row that Gukesh finished tied for the top spot at the event and lost the tiebreaker. In the previous edition, he lost to Chinese Wei Yi.
