All posts tagged: Gukesh Dommaraju

Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Divya all lose in Round 6

Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Divya all lose in Round 6

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India’s Gukesh Dommaraju, Praggananandhaa Rameshbabu, and Divya Deshmukh all fell to losses in their respective Round 6 games at the 2026 Norway Chess on Sunday. Praggnanandhaa, who was bested by GM Wesley So, now sits last in the standings. In what was a long tiring battle, So handled complications well and converted his chances in the endgame to secure three points and move to the top of the standings. Meanwhile, the reigning world champion Gukesh went down to Germany’s Vincent Keymer with the black pieces in a 52-move encounter. Divya concedes the lead Divya Deshmukh, who had climbed to sole lead in the women’s section with her Round 5 win on Saturday, went down to the reigning women’s world champion Ju Wenjun. The Chinese Grandmaster went on the offensive and slowly suffocated Deshmukh to draw out a resignation. Elsewhere, Koneru Humpy held Bibisara Assaubayeva to a draw in the classical match before going down in an Armageddon. The win over Humpy propelled Assaubayeva to sole lead in the women’s event. While Assaubayeva currently sits at …

Magnus Carlsen pulls out ‘proper old guy move’ in win over Alireza Firouzja | Chess News

Magnus Carlsen pulls out ‘proper old guy move’ in win over Alireza Firouzja | Chess News

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3 min readOsloJun 1, 2026 07:04 AM IST It’s starting to happen again. That juggernaut called Magnus Carlsen is starting to gather momentum to chase another title at Norway Chess, however absurd it sounds this time around. After all, it was only yesterday that Carlsen was at the bottom of the standings. A notorious slow starter at tournaments these days, it would have felt like Carlsen had left it too late to power another title challenge. Despite experiencing an unprecedented three losses in five games — to Alireza Firouzja, R Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So — so far at the tournament in Oslo, Carlsen is just four points behind tournament leader Wesley So after he took down the French-Iranian Firouzja in a classical game by playing “old man chess”. Walking into the game on Sunday, Carlsen was asked to rate from 1 to 10 how much of a mood he was in to fight. “1.5,” Carlsen had shrugged before walking away. But on the board, he had opted for an old-school opening trick to try and …

Divya Deshmukh takes sole lead; Gukesh beats Praggnanandhaa

Divya Deshmukh takes sole lead; Gukesh beats Praggnanandhaa

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India’s Divya Deshmukh took the sole lead in the women’s section of the 2026 Norway Chess in Oslo on Saturday. Deshmukh, 20, took down China’s Jhu Ziner in the only classical victory of Round 5 in the women’s event. Playing with the black pieces, Deshmukh emerged victorious after a long drawn end-game battle against the world No 4 to overtake Bibisara Assaubayeva as the sole leader of the competition. Deshmukh currently has 8.5 points out of 5 matches in the tournament. Gukesh pips Praggnanandhaa Elsewhere in the open section, the reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju pipped fellow Indian Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in the fifth round. Praggnanandhaa held the initiative for much of the game before Gukesh seized his opportunity in the latter stages of the match. Under increasing pressure and time trouble, Praggnanandhaa was unable to hold the position, allowing Gukesh to convert his advantage and secure the victory. Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa are placed third and fourth respectively in the standings. Meanwhile, Wesely So of the United States took down world No 1 Magnus Carlsen whereas …

Magnus Carlsen defeats World Champion Gukesh in Norway Chess 2026 clash

Magnus Carlsen defeats World Champion Gukesh in Norway Chess 2026 clash

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Magnus Carlsen emerged victorious in the marquee matchup of Round 4 at Norway Chess 2026, defeating reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a closely fought classical game in Oslo on Thursday. Playing with the black pieces, Carlsen gradually gained the upper hand in a position that remained balanced for much of the contest. The turning point came in the middlegame, where the world No. 1 capitalised on his opportunities and increased the pressure on Gukesh. Facing a difficult position and mounting time trouble, the Indian grandmaster was unable to recover as Carlsen converted his advantage into a valuable victory. The result boosted Carlsen’s standing in the tournament after a relatively slow start and kept him firmly in contention for the title. Praggnanandhaa wins Armageddon as Firouzja stays on top The other two games in the open section ended in draws before being decided through Armageddon tiebreaks. Wesley So and Alireza Firouzja shared the point in their classical encounter, but So prevailed in Armageddon to secure the bonus point. Meanwhile, R Praggnanandhaa and Vincent Keymer drew …

Gukesh beats World C’ship challenger Sindarov; celebrates with fist pump

Gukesh beats World C’ship challenger Sindarov; celebrates with fist pump

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In a rare display of emotion, the reigning world chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju celebrated with a fist pump over the board as he took down his world championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov in Round 5 of the Grand Chess Tour Super Rapid in Poland on Wednesday. It was the first meeting between the two Grandmasters, who will play the youngest world championship match in chess history later this year, since Sindarov won the 2026 Candidates tournament to earn a shot at dethroning Gukesh. Playing with the black pieces, Gukesh outplayed Sindarov in a long 52-minute battle. As soon as the Uzbekistan Grandmaster resigned, the usually calm and composed Gukesh celebrated with a fist pump while still seated before the board. WATCH Gukesh’s winning reaction here Gukesh employed the Caro Kann defence against Sindarov’s king’s pawn opening and landed in an equal position out of the opening play. The first decisive moment of the game happened ten moves later as Sindarov misplayed his knight to e4 square in a major blunder. Gukesh spotted the error and played …

Javokhir Sindarov wins; set to challenge Gukesh Dommaraju at World C’ships

Javokhir Sindarov wins; set to challenge Gukesh Dommaraju at World C’ships

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Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov clinched the 2026 FIDE Candidates title with a round to spare on Tuesday, earning the right to challenge India’s Gukesh Dommaraju for the world championship title later this year. Sindarov, who had opened up an early lead in the tournament, held his closest rival Anish Giri to a draw with the black pieces in the penultimate round to all seal his title win. The 20-year-old Sindarov currently sits on 9.5 points after 13 rounds with six wins, including a four-match win streak. He is still unbeaten in the tournament in what has been one of the best performances ever recorded in the Candidates. Sindarov has been in red hot form in the recent past. He had also won the FIDE World Cup in Goa in November last year, securing his spot at the 2026 FIDE Candidates. When Sindarov goes up against Gukesh sometime later this year, it will be the youngest world championship match in chess history. Vaishali held to a draw Meanwhile, the 2026 Women’s Candidates continues to grow into a …

Garry Kasparov: Pragg looks like bleak shadow of himself; Would love to see Sindarov vs Magnus Carlsen World Championship match | Chess News

Garry Kasparov: Pragg looks like bleak shadow of himself; Would love to see Sindarov vs Magnus Carlsen World Championship match | Chess News

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3 min readApr 11, 2026 09:00 AM IST Chess legend Garry Kasparov has said that Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa has of late looked like a “bleak shadow” of the Pragg we have seen over the last few years. After 10 rounds of the Candidates tournament in Cyprus, Praggnanandhaa finds himself in seventh spot, with exactly half the number of points than tournament leader Javokhir Sindarov, who is a peer of the Indian youngster. “Pragg was on the rise and just now it’s like he’s a bleak shadow of what we saw a couple of years ago,” Kasparov said with a hint of surprise in his voice in a conversation with the St Louis Chess Club during the 10th round when Praggnanandhaa was facing off against Sindarov. Pragg went on to lose that game, which was his second defeat to the Uzbek prodigy in the tournament in two games, in a result that effectively ended his chances of winning the tournament. When grandmaster Yasser Seirawan mentioned that Pragg’s play at the Candidates had looked “stale” and …

‘Everyone’s letting Javokhir Sindarov do whatever he wants with them at Candidates’, says Levon Aronian | Chess News

‘Everyone’s letting Javokhir Sindarov do whatever he wants with them at Candidates’, says Levon Aronian | Chess News

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3 min readApr 10, 2026 06:41 PM IST After 10 rounds of the Candidates tournament in Cyprus, Uzbek phenom Javokhir Sindarov holds a significant edge heading into the last four rounds. A cushion of a two-point lead over the rest of the field means that at the end of the year, we may very well have a World Championship battle between two of the youngest contenders at the World Championship in history with the 20-year-old Sindarov taking on a 19-year-old Gukesh. One of the men impressed by Sindarov’s rampaging run at the Candidates is chess legend Levon Aronian. “I feel like somehow everybody’s kind of collapsing and just letting Sindarov do anything he wants with them,” Aronian told the St Louis Chess Club’s YouTube channel in an interview while Sindarov was playing against Praggnanandhaa in the 10th round on Thursday. “I think this Candidates tournament is not as exciting as we all were hoping for. Especially for our boys (US stars Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura).” Talking about what makes Sindarov a lethal player, Aronian …

Nihal Sarin beats world champion Gukesh Dommaraju

Nihal Sarin beats world champion Gukesh Dommaraju

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Nihal Sarin emerged victorious over the reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in an all-India Round 3 clash at the 2026 Menorca Chess Masters on Wednesday. Playing with the black pieces, Gukesh employed the Slav defence. He erred straight out of the opening, misplacing his queen twice in the first 12 moves to hand Nihal the advantage. Nihal, looking to get his campaign back on track after having lost the previous day, played all the right moves once he realised he had the advantage. He went out an all-out attack, forcing a resignation out of Gukesh in 34 moves. The win propelled Nihal to sole lead in the six-man competition with 2 points in three rounds. Gukesh, meanwhile, sits dead last in the standings with just 1 point. Pentala Harikishna, the other Indian in contention, has accumulated 1.5 points after 3 rounds. Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the …

Aravindh Chitambaram finishes third; Gukesh ninth

Aravindh Chitambaram finishes third; Gukesh ninth

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The reigning champion Aravindh Chitambaram finished third in the 2025 Prague Chess Masters on Friday, scoring five points in nine rounds. Aravindh ended the tournament with two consecutive victories, beating Jorden van Foreest and David Navara in the eighth and ninth round respectively. Earlier, he had a disappointing start to the tournament, losing his first round match against Nodirbek Abusttarov. He, however, bounced back with a win over Hans Niemann in the second round and playing out a draw against Parham Maghsoodloo in the third round. Aravindh, however, lost the way soon after with two losses in the next two rounds before a win against the reigning world champion and fellow Indian Gukesh Dommaraju put him back on track for a good finish. Aravindh finished level on points with Maghsoodloo after nine rounds, but took the third spot on inferior tiebreak score. Meanwhile, Gukesh had a sorry run in the tournament, finishing ninth out of ten players with just 3.5 points. He beat David Anton of Spain in the final round with the black pieces …