Tata Steel Chess 2026: Tough day for Indians as Gukesh, Arjun go down, Pragg stays winless in Round 7

It was a tough day for the Indian players at the ongoing Tata Steel Chess 2026 Masters tournament in Wijk aan Zee, as Round 7 brought more disappointment. World champion Gukesh Dommaraju, India’s number one-ranked player Arjun Erigaisi, and Aravindh Chitambaram all suffered defeats, while Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was once again held to a draw.

Gukesh went down for the second time in a row, and this time against Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri. Gukesh resigned after 37 moves, handing Giri his first win of the tournament. The loss came a day after Gukesh endured one of the most painful defeats of his career against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, where a one-move blunder forced him to resign almost immediately.

Gukesh never quite recovered against Giri as he made another mistake. However, this error did not lead to an immediate resignation from the Indian star. Giri, who had been having a poor tournament until then with two losses and four draws, took full advantage and secured his first victory of the event.

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Results of the Masters & Challengers after Round 7!💙#TataSteelChess pic.twitter.com/hTWFWSYdE0

— Tata Steel Chess Tournament (@tatasteelchess) January 24, 2026

Other Indians also struggle

R Praggnanandhaa’s struggles at Wijk aan Zee also continued. The Indian youngster played out a draw against French grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum in 33 moves. It was Pragg’s fifth straight draw after starting the tournament with two defeats against Erigaisi and Abdusattorov.

Pragg played aggressive and attacking chess throughout and even sacrificed his rook on the 19th move to launch a kingside attack. Bluebaum was under pressure on the clock, spending nearly 50 minutes on one move, but Pragg eventually chose to settle for a draw. Elsewhere, Erigaisi lost to young Turkish talent Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, while Chitambaram was defeated by Jorden van Foreest.

The Indian players will hope to regroup and bounce back with six rounds still to go. Round 8 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, January 25, where Gukesh will face Russian GM Vladimir Fedoseev. Erigaisi and Chitambaram will lock horns against each other, while Praggnanandhaa will take on Erdogmus.