Chess
Superbet Chess Classics: Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa play out a draw in Opener
Alireza Firouzja and Wesley So lead after strong wins.
R Praggnanandhaa (left) and D Gukesh (right) (File Photo)
Indian chess stars D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa began their Superbet Chess Classics 2025 campaigns with a closely contested draw in the first round of the prestigious tournament in Bucharest, Romania.
Gukesh, who recently became the youngest World Chess Champion, started with a Queen’s pawn opening. At the same time, Praggnanandhaa responded with the Queen’s Gambit Accepted — a line Gukesh had previously used in a key game during his title run. Both players prepared deeply, setting the stage for a tactical battle early on.
Gukesh appeared to gain the upper hand by the 20th move, applying pressure with strong positioning. However, a strategic miscalculation — exchanging his queen for a rook and minor pieces — allowed Praggnanandhaa back into the game. Another slip by Gukesh saw the momentum shift further, and Praggnanandhaa capitalised to level the position. The game eventually ended in a 35-move draw, with both players settling for half a point.
Meanwhile, France’s Alireza Firouzja and the USA’s Wesley So made strong starts, scoring victories over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) and Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Romania), respectively, emerging as early leaders in the 10-player round-robin event.
In other matches, Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA), and Levon Aronian (USA) held Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) to a draw.
The Superbet Chess Classics is part of the Grand Chess Tour and features a prize pool of USD 350,000. With eight rounds remaining, Firouzja and So lead the standings with 1 point each, followed by Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Aronian, Abdusattorov, Caruana, and Duda on 0.5. Deac and Vachier-Lagrave are yet to open their accounts.
Round 1 Results:
D Gukesh (IND) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (IND)
Levon Aronian (USA) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB)
Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA)
Alireza Firouzja (FRA) beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)
Wesley So (USA) beat Deac Bogdan-Daniel (ROU)
