Superbet Classic Round 3: Gukesh stumbles, Praggnanandhaa shares lead

World Champion D Gukesh suffered a tough defeat at the hands of French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Round 4 of the Superbet Chess Classic 2025 in Romania.

With this loss, Gukesh dropped out of the joint lead. At the same time, fellow Indian GM R Praggnanandhaa held a solid draw to remain in the three-way tie for the top spot alongside Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Caruana.

The tournament, part of the Grand Chess Tour, has reached its halfway mark with all players still in contention, but Saturday’s round saw significant shifts at the top of the standings. Vachier-Lagrave’s victory over Gukesh was particularly dominant — the game ended in just 31 moves, a rarity at this level, especially against a reigning world champion.

The 18-year-old Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion in history earlier this year, was outfoxed early in the game and couldn’t recover. Vachier-Lagrave capitalized on an early opening edge and punished Gukesh’s ambitious push with 22...c5?, calling it “game over” from that point. The Frenchman, known for his sharp preparation, said he had been feeling unwell earlier in the event but was finally back in rhythm.

Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa played it safe against Romanian GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac in a Ragozin setup that fizzled into a draw after early piece exchanges. Though the game was uneventful, the result was enough for the 18-year-old Indian prodigy to maintain his place at the top.

Key games ahead

With four rounds done, the leaderboard sees Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave, and Praggnanandhaa tied at 2.5/4. They are followed by Firouzja, Wesley, Aronian and Deac on 2 points apiece. Gukesh currently have 1.5 points along with Abdusattorov and Duda.

The next round on Sunday promises fireworks, especially with Praggnanandhaa taking on Vachier-Lagrave — a direct clash between two of the leaders. Gukesh will look to bounce back and keep his tournament hopes alive.