Gukesh Loses, as Resilient Praggnanandhaa Wins Tata Steel Chess 2025

Photo Credits: Tata Steel Chess, Jurriaan Hoefsmit.

At the Tata Steel Chess 2025, one of the most prestigious super-tournaments featuring an all-stars elite field of players, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu shocked the chess world again, proving why world-class players like Magnus Carlsen are typically wary of his play. He showed that he’s never an underdog, regardless of whether he’s a favorite, earning the top prize after a thrilling tie-break against the World Champion, Gukesh D.

Praggnanandhaa remains one of India’s most prominent talents since the great Vishy Anand. His remarkable achievements and talent over the board have made several chess fans root for him since he first came into the limelight. 

Photo Credits: Chess.com.

Best Performances at Tata Steel Chess

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu

Photo Credits: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess.

We all know how strong Praggnanandhaa can be at his best, considering he’s defeated most of the absolute top players, a class that seems unbeatable for the average Grandmasters.

However, he hasn’t had a superb tournament since his FIDE World Cup showing in 2023, where he was runner-up. Although his Olympiad showing—winning India the converted team Gold medal—was impressive, it was not as spectacular as two of his teammates, the now world champion Gukesh D and Arjun Erigaisi, the world no. 4, who both won Individual Gold medals on their boards.

It was as if Praggnanandhaa had reached the height of his chess career. At the same time, his countrymen and friends- Arjun and Gukesh, went ahead to break more impressive records like crossing 2800 FIDE rating, dominating strings of elite tournaments, and, in Gukesh’s case- winning the Candidates tournament and becoming World Champion at 18.

So, it is a surprise for most, considering the list of players playing at the Tata Steel event. Praggnanandhaa was seeded 6th based on rating.

Round 1 (vs. Abdusattorov Nodirberk)

In the first round, Praggnanandhaa R started with the herculean task of meeting the youngest-ever Rapid World Champion, GM Abdusattorov Nodirberk. Praggnanandhaa tested Nodirberk in the English opening’s theoretical and tactical Kramnik-Shirov variation. Praggnanandhaa opted for a sideline where blacks equalized, but he found himself in a more passive position. 

By move 13, Praggnanandhaa’s Na2 entered uncharted territory, and he failed to navigate the strategic battle that ensued, settling for an uncomfortable position as white. 

Nodirberk had chances to convert his advantage for a win, but Praggnanandhaa’s resilient defense turned the uncomfortable position into a half-point. 

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Round 2 (vs. Harikrishna)

Coming off from his round-one save, Praggnanandhaa crossed swords against his fellow countryman Harikrishna Pentala. The choice of a Rossolimo Sicilian already hinted that a peaceful resolution is unlikely in the game. Both players navigated an all-out attacking game perfectly until what was left was a Rook and Bishop vs. Rook and Bishop endgame where black was the one pushing for an advantage, if any. 

However, in a critical position, Harikrishna blundered in one move where his best choice was exchanging the Rooks and holding a pawn down endgame by declining the exchange with 44.Rb4 instead of Rxc6. That was the only slip-up Prag needed to convert the game.

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Round 3 (vs Arjun Erigaisi)

Arjun Erigaisi, a favorite entering the tournament, had a rough start, losing to Harikrishna in round one and drawing Anish Giri in the second. 

Arjun would again lose Praggnanandhaa in what was a Catalan setup, where the eventual tournament winner displayed his position understanding to win the game, beautifully outplaying another of his countrymen and friends. 

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Rounds 4 to 8 

In the Round 4 match, Praggnanandhaa defeated rising star Mendonca Leon Luke to have a three-game winning streak. Going into the fifth round, he was against hometown hero Warmerdam Max, and their game ended in a draw. The sixth, seventh, and eighth rounds against Wei Yi, Jordan van Foreest, and Gukesh D also ended in consecutive draws. 

Round 9 (vs. Anish Giri)

Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri was Praggnanandhaa’s first defeat in the tournament, featuring the Indian defence by Praggnanandhaa. Series of positional mistakes starting from 16. c5? led to what was a one-sided game. Anish outplayed the eventual tournament winner. After the 9th round, Praggnanandhaa dropped from being a co-leader to trailing Gukesh by a full point.

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Round 10 (vs. Fedoseev Vladimir)

In a one-sided game, Fedoseev Vladimir got outplayed entirely in the Tarrasch defence stemming from a Queen’s gambit. Fedoseev missed some moments where he had some shots at saving the game. After the missed saves, the rest of the game was a smooth sail for Praggnanandhaa, who continued to build his positional advantage for a full point.

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Round 11 (vs. Fabiano Caruana)

Praggnanandhaa’s play was more than impressive during the tournament, and the game against World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana illustrates his level of play. Caruana, who has been having a rocky tournament, got outplayed in the Queen’s gambit declined, a game that lasted 37 moves.

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Round 12 (vs Alexey Sarana)

Being just half a point behind the tournament leader, a win for Gukesh would make it more difficult for Praggnanandhaa to catch up. However, Gukesh was held to a draw by Van Foreest Jordan. Praggnanandhaa’s win featured an eventual queen sac in a Queen’s gambit game, which made them co-leaders going into the last day.

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Round 13 (vs. Vincent Keymer)

This round was reminiscent of Ivanchuk’s tournament-spoiling play at the 2013 Candidates Tournament, where he first defeated Magnus Carlsen, then Vladimir Kramnik, ultimately aiding Carlsen’s path to victory. Arjun Erigaisi put pressure both on the clock and on the board to defeat his fellow countryman — Gukesh, in a game where Gukesh could have earlier drawn with threefold repetition. While Vincent Keymer defeated Praggnanandhaa in their last match, a draw for either Gukesh or Praggnanandhaa would have secured the tournament victory—if the other lost. However, they both couldn’t win their games and remained the only two players on 8.5 setting them both for a tie-break. 

Photo Credits: Tata Steel Chess, Jurriaan Hoefsmit.

Tiebreaks

The tie-breaks rule stipulated that Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa would play two games of 3+2 time control and proceed to sudden death if there was still a tie. The sudden death was interesting as White had 30 seconds less than black (2:30 to 3:00 with increments).

Gukesh took the first tie-break game after displaying what seemed to be his World Championship training still in the tank. However, Praggnanandhaa’s comeback and resilience led to a back-to-back win in the second game and the sudden-death match against the World champion. He had done the seemingly arduous task and won ahead of the World Champions and other strong players.

Photo Credits: Tata Steel Chess.

Fedoseev, Vladimir

The Slovene grandmaster came in fourth position with 7.5/13 points and a 2783 performance rating, gaining 12 Elo points and losing just three games with massive victories. His event tournament standings and performance rating of 2783 clearly show how impressive his run was in the Tata Steel Chess 2025.

Harikrishna Pentala

Photo Credits: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess

Coming in as a last-minute replacement for GM Vidit Gujrathi, the Indian GM conceded only to fellow countrymen Gukesh D and Praggnanandhaa R. He also lost a game to Fedoseev Vladimir, who delivered a great tournament run. Apart from that, his performance rating 

Thai Dai Van Nguyen

Photo Credits: Tata Steel Chess

The Czech GM won the Challenger’s section impressively ahead of the prodigies and delivered a dominant performance, staying true to his rating with just one loss against GM Frederik Svane. His performance of 9.5/14 secures him a place in next year’s Masters.

Below Expectations 

Arjun Erigaisi 

Considering Arjun lost just two games in all of 2024, he had an awful tournament by losing four games in one event. He performed at about 2662 rating, way below his 2801 FIDE rating. The strings of draws and losses led to him losing 21 Elo from this event alone.

Photo Credits: Tata Steel Chess, Jurriaan Hoefsmit.

Fabiano Caruana 

Caruana is one of two 2800 club members who struggled during the Tata Steel Chess 2025. He finished with four losses, two wins with about a 2690 performance, losing 20 Elo from the event. Being the highest rated, coming 9th in the final standings is far from ideal for the former world championship challenger.

Final Standings

Conclusion 

Praggnanandhaa with the 2025 TATA Steel Chess Trophy. Photo Credits: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess.

Tata Steel Chess 2025 gave us everything—big upsets, intense battles, and a dramatic tie-break that saw Praggnanandhaa take down World Champion Gukesh D. It was a tournament to remember!

But the chess action is far from over. 2025 is packed with more top-level events, from the World Cups to the Grand Chess Tour and the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. If Tata Steel was any sign, we’re in for an incredible year of chess.

Stay tuned for more upcoming tournaments!