D Gukesh Breaks Losing Streak, Aravindh Chithambaram Secures Joint Second at Prague Chess

Indian chess player D Gukesh ended his winless streak with a decisive victory at the Prague International Chess Festival, while Aravindh Chithambaram’s impressive performance secured him a joint second-place finish.

Photograph: Prague International Chess Festival

World Champion D Gukesh ended a winless streak, beating David Anton Guijarro of Spain in the ninth and final round of the Masters section of the Prague International Chess festival that concluded here.

But Aravindh Chithambaram sparkled in the last round as well, defeating David Navara of Czech Republic to finish joint second.

After a string of draws and three losses earlier in the tournament, Gukesh was finally able to show his mettle in what was a well-played game by the Indian ace.

Guijarro, who succumbed to his third loss in a row, was no match for Gukesh in creativity and was grounded in the endgame.

Meanwhile, Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan won the tournament after an easy draw with white against Hans Moke Niemann of United States.

The Uzbek had earlier won the Tata Steel Masters in February and in another worthy performance he scored three victories and six draws to remain undefeated here.

Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran, Jorden van Foreest of Holland and Aravindh scored an identical five points to tie for the second spot.

For Aravindh, it was an excellent recovery towards the end just while it looked like he was struggling. Against Navara, the Indian played
his trademark complicated chess and was rewarded when he created threats on both sides of the board.

After leading the tournament for the first seven rounds, Van Foreest ran out of steam and suffered his second straight loss in the tournament at the hands of Maghsoodloo.

Navarra and Uzbek Nodirbek Yakubboev tied for the fifth spot on 4.5 points, a half point ahead of German Vincent Keymer and Niemann while Gukesh and Guijarro tied for the ninth spot in the ten-players round-robin tournament.

Indian Success in the Challengers’ Section

There was more good news for the Indians on the final day in the Challengers’ section where Divya Deshmukh defeated Hrbek Stepan of Czech Republic to finish on a creditable third spot.

Just ahead of the Women’s candidates’ tournament to be held at Cyprus at the end of the month, this result will definitely send warning signals to Divya’s opponents.

Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly also finished on a high defeating higher rated Benjamin Gledura of Hungary in his last outing.

The 16-year-old Finek Vanclav of Czech Republic scored an enviable 6.5 points to win the event a half point ahead of Daniel Yuffa of Spain.

Tournament Results

Results: Masters: Vincent Keymer (Ger, 4) lost to Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 4.5); Parham Maghsoodloo (Iri, 5) beat Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 5); David Anton Guijarro (Esp, 3.5) lost to D Gukesh (Ind, 3.5) Aravindh Chithambaram (Ind, 5) beat David Navara (Cze, 4.5); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 6) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (Usa, 4).

Challengers: Jonas Bjerre Buhl (Den, 4.5) beat Zhu Jiner (Chn, 2.5); Thomas Beerdsen (Ned, 4) lost to Finek Vanclav (Cze, 6.5); Nemec Jachym (Cze, 4.5) lost to Daniil Yuffa (Esp, 6); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (Ind, 4) beat Benjamin Gledura (Hun, 4.5); Hrbek Stepan (Cze, 3.5) lost to Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 5).

Disclaimer: News content is sourced from the stated source. Headlines, summaries, section headers, and images are automatically generated or selected using AI/algorithms and may not always be fully accurate. Readers are advised to refer to the full article for complete context.