 "Praggnanandhaa gets Classical revenge vs world champion Gukesh, reaches his highest ever rating: 'Haven't had great results against him'")
R Praggnanandhaa scripted a memorable victory over chess world champion D Gukesh on Monday, avenging all his Classical losses against the fellow Chennai Grandmaster since 2022 at the Sinquefield Cup 2025. With his first round victory over Gukesh at the Saint Louis Chess Club, Praggnanandhaa also climbed to world No.3 position in the chess live rating, a spot ahead of Fabiano Caruana, with his highest ever Elo of 2784. Gukesh is currently world No.5 (2771).
“It was a smooth game. It was surprising from him because he was off at the start, like he spent so much time at a theoretical position and this endgame is just unpleasant for him,” an excited Praggnanandhaa told Grand Chess Tour. “It started to get worse and worse. I guess the last chance was to take his pawn on B4, but I think it still should be winning and I think it’s a good game to start with.”
“I think starting rounds are the ones that are really important because you never know if you are coming to a tournament in a good shape or a bad one. I think I got the best start I can hope for.”
Praggnanandhaa breaks Classical losing streak vs Gukesh
For the unversed, Gukesh’s strongest suit is Classical chess, the format in which he won the World Chess Championship in December 2024, beating defending champion Ding Liren. While Praggnanandhaa has defeated Gukesh multiple times in faster formats, he has not managed to beat the 19-year-old chess superstar in traditional Classical format since 2022.
Praggnanandhaa’s last Classical win over Gukesh came at the Kvika Reykjavík Open on 12 April 2022.
Check out the final moments of Praggnanandhaa defeating the World Champion Gukesh in Round 1 of Sinquefield Cup! pic.twitter.com/W1RvvSPd1p
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) August 18, 2025
Praggnanandhaa admitted to having a poor record against Gukesh in the Classical format, but expressed his relief at finally breaking the drought.
“I am not sure. At this point, I think I know all the players quite well. I have played a lot against them. It’s not that I know Gukesh particularly well, but I haven’t had really great results against him in the last few years. This is my first classical win in like three years and the previous one I got was also lucky because he was completely winning throughout,” 20-year-old Praggnanandhaa said. “Also, I messed up three winning positions last year. Yeah, so, finally, I am happy that I managed to get one win.
“This is my first win here at Sinquefield Cup. Last year, I made nine draws, which is also where I spoiled many winning positions. This is a different story. Yeah, I am happy to be here and it’s nice to be here.”
Coming to the match. Gukesh, who was playing with Black pieces, was forced to resign after 36 moves as he was pushed into a position from which it was impossible to recover.
Here’s how Praggnanandhaa defeated Gukesh:
Gukesh’s match was full of inaccuracies as Praggnanandhaa stumped him despite entering a seemingly equal endgame.
Praggnanandhaa is in joint first position with Levon Aronian after Round 1 of the Sinquefield Cup 2025. Aronian defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov, while all other matches ended in a draw.
Praggnanandhaa faces Caruana in Round 2, while Gukesh will be up against Nodirbek.
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