St. Louis (Missouri), August 19 (H.S.) : Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa made a dream start to the Sinquefield Cup 2025, stunning reigning World Champion and compatriot D. Gukesh in the very first round of the prestigious tournament.

Playing with the white pieces, Praggnanandhaa seized the initiative early and never looked back. Gukesh, unusually out of rhythm, eventually resigned before the 36th move, handing his younger rival a memorable victory.

Speaking after the match, Praggnanandhaa admitted the win carried special significance: “I don’t know what went wrong for Gukesh today, but I got a good position right from the opening. Recently, my results against him haven’t been great—I even squandered three winning games last year. For the past two years, I couldn’t beat him, not even in rapid. That’s why this win feels so important.”

The triumph has catapulted Praggnanandhaa to World No. 3 in live ratings, overtaking American GM Fabiano Caruana.

In another decisive encounter of the opening round, Levon Aronian (USA) outplayed Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) with the black pieces.

Looking ahead, Round 2 promises more fireworks: Gukesh faces Abdusattorov in a high-stakes rebound clash, while Praggnanandhaa takes on Caruana. Interestingly, both Indian prodigies will once again command the white pieces.

The Sinquefield Cup 2025, part of the elite Grand Chess Tour (GCT), serves as the final classical event before the season-ending GCT Finals, making every result crucial in the race for the title.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar