Aravindh Chithambaram’s strategic victory over D Gukesh at the Prague International Chess Festival highlights the intense competition and shifting rankings in the world of chess.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy Stev Bonhage via Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025/Instagram
Key Points
- Aravindh Chithambaram defeated reigning FIDE world champion D Gukesh at the Prague International Chess Festival.
- Gukesh’s loss has impacted his live rating, placing him at number 20 after recent struggles to maintain his world champion status.
- Jorden van Foreest remains the sole leader of the tournament, following a draw with David Navara.
- Divya Deshmukh and Surya Shekhar Ganguly played out draws in the masters section of the Prague International Chess Festival.
Defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram found a textbook-style tactic to outwit compatriot D Gukesh, relegating the reigning FIDE world champion to the last spot after the end of sixth round of Masters section of Prague International Chess Festival here.
The victory for Aravindh meant that Gukesh is now ranked number 20 on the live rating list that did not feature Viswanathan Anand due to his possibly inactive status. There has been a clear struggle for Gukesh to maintain his status as the world champion since he won the title in December 2024.
Possibly the only exception was the Tata Steel Masters in January 2025 when he lost the tiebreaker to R Praggnanandhaa after tying for first place. A recent slum has now seen the world champion losing over fifty points in rating.
For the record Aravindh finally changed to a Sicilian defense as black after his Philidor experiment failed miserably. Going for the complications for Gukesh was easy as he sacrificed a pawn to find some tactics in the early stages of the middle game.
Aravindh would have been happy with a draw the way the position unfolded with white having a rook against two knights. But, on the 40th move, with seconds remaining Gukesh made the decisive error. It was all over eight moves later.
Surprisingly, this was the only decisive game of the day with the remaining four ending in draws.
Jorden van Foreest remained in sole lead on 4.5 points drawing with local star David Navara who remained joint second with Abdusattorov Nodirbek of Uzbekistan a half point behind.
David Anton Guijarrov on 3.5 is closest to the three above him on 3.5 after settling for peace against Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran.
Aravindh with Vincent Keymer of Germany and Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan is next in the line up while Niemann is just above Gukesh on 1.5 points.
Foreest finally had a draw after five decisive games and this time too it seemed his extra pawn would do the trick. The Dutchman has been in the form of his life but in the sixth round Navara held his nerve to keep the opposition pieces and attack at bay.
The result was a draw, letting Foreest keep the lead, but both Navara and Abdusattorov remain in hunt with three rounds still to come in the second super tournament of the year.
Other Matches and Results
In the masters section, world women’s cup winner Divya Deshmukh played out a draw with Thomas Beerdsen of Holland while Surya Shekhar Ganguly split the point with Daniil Yuffa of Spain.
Results round 6 Masters: D Gukesh (Ind, 1.5) lost to Aravindh Chithambaram (Ind, 2.5); David Anton Guijarro (Esp, 3.5) drew with Parham Maghsoodloo (Iri, 3); Hans Moke Niemann (Usa, 2) drew with Vincent Keymer (Ger, 2.5); Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 2.5) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4); Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 4.5) drew with David Navara (Cze, 4).
Challengers: Daniil Yuffa (Esp, 3) drew with Surya Shekhar Ganguly (Ind, 1.5); Benjamin Gledura (Hun, 3) beat Nemec Jachym (Cze, 3); Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 3) drew with Thomas Beerdsen (Ned, 3.5); Hrbek Stepan (Cze, 3.5) drew with Jonas Buhl Bjerre (Den, 3); Zhu Jiner (Chn, 2) drew with Finek Vanclav (Cze, 4.5).
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