NEW DELHI: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa battled fatigue and nerves to overcome world champion D Gukesh in a high-stakes showdown between compatriots, securing his first-ever Tata Steel Masters title. The 19-year-old from Chennai staged a remarkable comeback to defeat the 18-year-old 2-1 in the tiebreaker of the tournament’s 87th edition on Sunday.
With this victory, Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian since Viswanathan Anand in 2006 to claim the prestigious title.
Anand praised him for his resilience, applauding his ability to bounce back after losing the first game to Gukesh in the tie-breaker.
The five-time Tata Steel Chess champion also used a viral phrase to playfully remind the world of his own past triumphs.
“Mere pass panch hai .. IYKYK!,” anand wrote.
“Indian chess winter at Wijk! Congratulations to @rpraggnachess on winning his first @tatasteelchess event in Wijk aan Zee. The last day was not typical at all of his play. He played many brilliant games, but yesterday he got outplayed, then tenaciously defended a lost position. The tragedy for him was after getting close to the desired goal of a draw, he blundered again. @DGukesh had lost a while ago to Arjun, so we were in the unusual situation of both title contenders losing their games and going to the tiebreak,” Anand wrote on his social media handle.
“In the tiebreak, @rpraggnachess lost the first game before winning the next two to become the 2025 champion. Given what he had been through, just hanging in there would have been an unimaginable effort,” he said.
“@DGukesh also ended his tournament with a loss which was not representative of his play in the event, and for the second year in a row, he lost the tiebreak. Nonetheless, this performance, right after winning the world title, confirms he is as hungry as ever!” he said.
