Sinquefield Cup 2025: Praggnanandhaa downs Gukesh in opening round; Aronian beats Abdusattorov
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat world champion and compatriot D Gukesh in the opening round of the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri on Tuesday.
Playing with white pieces, Praggnanandhaa held the upper hand against an off-colour Gukesh throughout their encounter.
With his chances fast dimming, Gukesh resigned ahead of his 36th move.
“I don’t know what happened. Just felt like he [Gukesh] was off today. I got a really good position out of the opening. I’ve been having some tough results lately against him.
Last year I messed up three winning positions. Last two years I haven’t really scored a single win against him. Even in Rapid it has been bad. So, it’s good to finally get a win,” said Praggnanandhaa after his first-round win.
The win also helped Praggnanandhaa to move to third in the world rankings as he leapfrogged American GM Fabiano in live ratings.
In the only other decisive result of the opening day, the USA’s Levon Aronian beat Uzbek GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov with black pieces.
In the second round, Gukesh will be up against Abdusattorov, while Praggnanandhaa will take on Caruana, with both Indian players wielding white pieces.
Sinquefield Cup 2025 is part of the Grand Chess Tour. It is the last leg and final classical event before the GCT 2025 final.