Tata Steel Masters: Gukesh loses; Praggnanandhaa beats Chithambaram to secure first win
World champion D. Gukesh’s stop-start campaign at the Tata Steel Masters, taking place in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands, hit another roadblock after he lost to Matthias Bluebaum in the ninth round on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old Indian, who was playing with white pieces, was outplayed by the German GM, making this his third defeat in the last four games.
Bulebaum is now one win away from going into the FIDE Candidates as a 2700 player for the first time in his career, with his live rating at 2695.1.
Meanwhile, R. Praggnanandhaa ended his victory drought by beating fellow Indian Aravindh Chithambaram, while Arjun Erigaisi drew with Hans Niemann.
After round 9, Gukesh, Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa are level on four points each, while Chithambaram is at the bottom of the table with 2.5 points. Nodirbek Abdusattorov continues to lead the standings with six points.
The 10th round on Wednesday will feature the following fixtures for the Indians: Gukesh vs Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Erigaisi vs Vincent Keymer, Praggnanandhaa vs Hans Moke Niemann and Chithambaram vs Thai Dai Van Nguyen.
Published on Jan 28, 2026