 "Aravindh Chithambaram is in sole lead at Prague Chess Masters 2025 with just one round left. Image: Prague Chess Masters")
An Indian chess Grandmaster is inching towards the title at Prague Chess Masters 2025 and it’s neither D Gukesh nor R Praggnanandhaa. The latest chess sensation to shine in the limelight is Madurai’s 25-year-old Aravindh Chithambaram, who is now in sole lead at the prestigious tournament with just one more round to go.
Aravindh Chithambaram was in joint lead with Praggnanandhaa till the end of the sixth round, but his victory over Dutch GM Anish Giri in the seventh round when the former drew against Chinese GM Wei Yi gave him a joint lead.
Aravindh Chithambaram maintained that lead on Thursday in the eighth and penultimate round by playing out a draw against David Navara of the Czech Republic. He now leads the standings by having half a point more than second-placed Praggnanandhaa, who drew against Vietnam’s Quang Liem Le in the eighth round.
Germany’s Vincent Keymer also drew against Turkish GM Ediz Gurel, while Wei Yi defeated Czech Republican Thai Dai Van Nguyen and Giri beat American Sam Shankland in the eighth round.
Recap of Aravindh and Praggnanandhaa’s matches
The Berlin defense is normally known to get balanced endgames and this time too, Navara had little trouble reaching an equal endgame.
A small oversight by both players at a critical moment briefly offered Aravindh a chance to push for victory, but the opportunity slipped, and both players signed truce in 32 moves.
Praggnanandhaa, playing White, opted for his pet Catalan opening against Le.
However, the Vietnamese GM found adequate counter play in the middle game by cornering the white queen.
Praggnanadhaa parted with a pawn for activity but the resulting position was only good enough to repeat. The game lasted 36 moves.
In the Challengers’ section, Divya Deshmukh drew with Czech player Nemec Jychym but remained in last place with two points.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev regained sole lead with 6.5 points after defeating Richard Stalmach.
In the final round of Prague Chess Masters 2025 on Friday, Aravindh will take on Ediz Gurel, while Praggnanandhaa faces a tougher test against Giri.
Prague Chess Masters 2025 standings
| Rank | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aravindh Chithambaram | 5.5 |
| 2 | Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 5 |
| 3 | Wei Yi | 4.5 |
| 4 | Vincent Keymer | 4 |
| 5 | Ediz Gurel | 4 |
| 6 | Anish Giri | 4 |
| 7 | Sam Shankland | 3.5 |
| 8 | Liem Le | 3.5 |
| 9 | David Navara | 3.5 |
| 10 | Thai Dai Van Nguyen | 2.5 |
Prague Chess Challengers 2025 standings
| Rank | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nodirbek Yakubboev | 6.5 |
| 2 | Jonas Buhl Bjerre | 6 |
| 3 | Marc’Andria Maurizzi | 5 |
| 4 | Ma Qun | 4.5 |
| 5 | Ivan Salgado Lopez | 4 |
| 6 | Vaclav Finek | 3.5 |
| 7 | Richard Stalmach | 3 |
| 8 | Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis | 3 |
| 9 | Jachym Nemec | 2.5 |
| 10 | Divya Deshmukh | 2 |
With agency inputs