India's Pranesh M beats Magnus Carlsen in thrilling showdown to win latest edition of 'Titled Tuesday'

Grandmaster Pranesh M became only the fifth Indian to win Chess.com’s ‘Titled Tuesday’ event earlier this week, beating world No 1 Magnus Carlsen to the top spot in the tie-breaks. Pranesh and Carlsen finished tied on 9.5 points out of a possible 11, both players winning nine games and losing and drawing one each. Pranesh, however, beat Carlsen to the title with a first tie-break score of 77.5 compared to 73.5 for the Norwegian.

A total of five players, including Indian No 1 Arjun Erigaisi, were tied for the top spot on 8.5 points after 10 rounds. Erigaisi, however, lost to Carlsen in Round 11 despite putting up an incredible fight while playing as white, with their battle ending in 117 moves with a queen checkmate after starting with a Sicilian Defense.

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Congratulations to 🇮🇳 GM Pranesh M on winning the #TitledTuesday ahead of Magnus Carlsen with 9.5/11! pic.twitter.com/GjdG2R9eqf

— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) November 25, 2025

Pranesh, meanwhile, defeated Russian GM Alexander Grischuk in 58 moves while playing as black. The 19-year-old was on the back-foot for some time after the game developed from a Ruy Lopez Opening, but managed to maintain a stranglehold over Grischuk with his smart time management.

Grischuk ended up resigning with a second left on the clock after being corned by Pranesh, who had a rook and a bishop left on the board compared to just a rook for the Russian.

Pranesh wins seven in a row, suffers only defeat in all-Indian battle against Arjun

Pranesh, who had won the latest edition of Freestyle Friday last week, was on a roll after winning seven consecutive games in the latest edition of Chess.com’s weekly online Swiss tournament for titled players with a time control of 5+0. That included a fifth-round win over Carlsen, with the 34-year-old Norwegian superstar resigning in 86 moves in a queen endgame while playing as white.

Pranesh’s winning streak, however, was brought to an end by American GM and popular streamer Hans Niemann, who held him to a 26-move draw via repetition. He then lost to Arjun in an all-Indian battle in the penultimate round after being forced to resign in 62 moves, his king the last white piece left on the board and cornered by two black pawns and the queen.

Magnus Carlsen ground a win out of nowhere against Arjun Erigaisi, but it's Pranesh who takes #TitledTuesday on tiebreaks! https://t.co/CLUW6g3S0D pic.twitter.com/E4qpS3opKh

— chess24 (@chess24com) November 25, 2025

The teenager was in danger of his campaign fizzling out after a strong start. Pranesh, however, managed to regain his composure in time to beat Grischuk in the final round and finish level on points with Carlsen.

Denis Lazavik and Vladislav Artemiev were the other players tied for the top spot on 8.5 points after 10 rounds, and the two played out a draw in the final round to finish joint second on the standings with 9. Lazavikand Artemiev later finished third and fifth respectively in the tie-breaks.

Pranesh, who beat Carlsen to the top prize of US$1,000, joined GMs Arjun, Nihal Sarin, Pranav Venkatesh and Raunak Sadhwani among Indians who have won the Titled Tuesday event. Nihal is the most successful Indian with 8 wins while Pranav and Arjun are second and third respectively with four and three wins respectively.

American GM and popular chess streamer Hikaru Nakamura remains the most successful player in the history of the tournament with 91 wins, with Carlsen second with 41. Nakamura finished 13th in the latest edition of the event with 8 points and a tie-break score of 78.5.