 "R Praggnanandhaa shakes D Gukesh's hand after defeating the Classical world champion in Round 1 of the 2025 Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, USA. Image credit: Grand Chess Tour")
Indian No 1 R Praggnanandhaa was over the moon after defeating fellow Indian Grandmaster and reigning world champion D Gukesh in the opening round of the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, USA on Monday. Not only did the victory, which was achieved in just 36 moves while playing with white pieces, give Praggnanandhaa the perfect start in the prestigious event, it was also his first victory over Gukesh in the Standard format in three years.
‘Huge respect for Gukesh’: Praggnanandhaa
In a post on social media, the 20-year-old reiterated the “huge respect” that he has for the youngest world champion in chess history and how tough it is to face him across the board.
“What a start to the Sinquefield Cup 2025,” Praggnanandhaa wrote on X after defeating Gukesh on Monday.
“Managed to get my first classical win against Gukesh after a long wait of over 3 years. Always a tough opponent and someone I have huge respect for,” he added.
Praggnanandhaa’s victory over Gukesh in the all-Indian battle was one of only two games out of five that ended in a decisive result in the opening round.
Armenian-American Grandmaster Levon Aronian, who had recently been crowned winner in the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz that preceded the ongoing event, also registered victory, defeating Uzbekistani GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov while playing as black.
Pragg vs Fabi up next
Praggnanandhaa faces world No 3 Fabiano Caruana in his next outing while Gukesh is up against Nodirbek in Round 2.
Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh currently are fifth and eighth respectively on the Grand Chess Tour standings, having collected 20 and 16 points so far.
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The former has the better shot of featuring in the GCT Finals, which takes place in Sao Paulo, Brazil from 26 September to 4 October where the top four players on the standings face off for the title.
And in order to secure a top-four finish, Praggnanandhaa – who had won Superbet Chess Classic Romania, the second event of the tour – he will hope to go the distance in the ongoing event.