Indian chess grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa left 2024 behind with a tinge of disappointment. But he started the new year with a bang, toppling newly crowned world champion and compatriot Gukesh Dommaraju in tie-breakers to claim his maiden Tata Steel Chess title in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, on Sunday.
He became only the second Indian to win the prestigious event, after Viswanathan Anand, reported the Times of India.
After finishing runner-up in the 2023 World Cup, the 19-year-old’s form took a hit in 2024.
Pragg finished fifth at the Candidates Tournament, and though he was part of India’s gold-winning team at the Budapest Chess Olympiad, his loss to the United States’ Wesley So in the penultimate round ended India’s unbeaten run in the Open section.
“It feels really good because I didn’t have a great end to 2024. I was highly motivated for this event and worked hard with my coach,” said Praggnanandhaa, after receiving a warm welcome from Tamil Nadu sports officials at the Chennai Airport on Tuesday.
Praggnanandhaa’s victory at the Tata Steel Chess tournament was shaped by a mix of his brilliance and “lucky” contributions from his Olympiad gold-winning teammates.
India No. 2 Arjun Erigaisi’s win over Gukesh in the final round pushed the latter into tie-breaks, while Pentala Harikrishna’s draw with Nodirbek Abdusattorov kept the Uzbek grandmaster out of the playoffs, reported India Today.
Praggnanandhaa said the performances of his teammates over the past year inspired him in his run to the crown.
“The results of other Indian chess players, like Gukesh winning the World Championship and Arjun Erigaisi crossing 2800 (Elo rating in classical chess), have definitely inspired me to work harder and keep going,” said the Chennai boy.
Winning the prestigious tournament, Praggnanandhaa earned 25 circuit points, placing him second on the 2025 FIDE circuit leaderboard – an important step towards qualifying for the Candidates Tournament next year.
The player said that, while the win was significant, there’s still a long road ahead.
“It’s still the start of the year. Many huge tournaments are coming up in 2025, like the World Cup and Grand Swiss, and all these are very important for Candidates qualification,” said Praggnanandhaa, who will next compete at the Prague Masters from Feb 25 to March 7.
“Still, this win is important for my confidence because I wasn’t happy with my games in the last few months, whereas I was satisfied with all the games I played at Tata Steel Chess.
“At the end of the day, the title came to our city, so that’s a proud feeling. It was nice to have two Chennai boys in the final. Huge congratulations to him (Gukesh) as well; he played really well.”
The result was a huge disappointment to Gukesh as the India No. 1 as at one point he had the sole lead in the tournament. But a dip in performances towards the end saw Praggnanandhaa catch up, and then the results on Round 13 forced a tie-breaker.
Gukesh was clearly devastated, and those emotions were totally visible on his face, reported India Today. He fell back on his seat and looked up at the ceiling, leaving even Praggnanandhaa stunned.
Calling it the “Indian chess winter at Wijk,” Anand lauded Praggnanandhaa for showing the courage to bounce back after two consecutive losses on the final day.
“Congratulations to @rpraggnachess on winning his first @tatasteelchess event in Wijk aan Zee. The last day was not typical at all of his play. He played many brilliant games, but yesterday he got outplayed, then tenaciously defended a lost position,” said Anand.
“The tragedy for him was after getting close to the desired goal of a draw, he blundered again. @DGukesh had lost a while ago to Arjun, so we were in the unusual situation of both title contenders losing their games and going to the tiebreak.”
Anand also lauded Gukesh’s hunger, saying the world champion’s run to the final step of the podium at Tata Steel Chess shows he is not ready to settle for anything less than titles on the tour.
“Gukesh also ended his tournament with a loss which was not representative of his play in the event, and for the second year in a row, he lost the tiebreak,” said the Indian legend. “Nonetheless, this performance, right after winning the world title, confirms he is as hungry as ever.”
