In New Delhi, D Gukesh, the new World Chess Champion, has kicked off his journey at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 on a high note. He triumphed over Anish Giri, a local favorite and past champion, in a thrilling match. Although Anish started strong, gaining an early lead while playing with black, a crucial mistake changed the game’s course.
Gukesh arrived in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, just hours before the tournament after celebrating his achievements back in India. He was recognized for his remarkable win against Ding Liren in Singapore, which made him one of the youngest World Chess Champions at just 18 years old. His recent accolades included a grand prize of Rs 1 crore from the All India Chess Federation and the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award from President Droupadi Murmu.
During the match, Anish’s impressive opening moves gave him an advantage. However, everything changed when he played Qb6 on the 15th move. This blunder allowed Gukesh to counter effectively. After capturing Anish’s queen, Gukesh quickly gained control of the board. Since Anish couldn’t recover, he ultimately resigned from the match, sealing Gukesh’s victory and establishing him as a serious contender right from the start of the Masters event.
While Gukesh celebrated his win, his fellow Indian player, Leon Luke Mendonca, faced a tougher match. Despite starting strong against Vincent Keymer, Leon made a critical error on his 31st move, which led to his defeat.
In another long match, Pentala Harikrishna and Arjun Erigaisi battled through 63 moves, but Harikrishna eventually secured a victory. R Praggnanandhaa managed to clinch a draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov after a challenging game. Meanwhile, world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana also concluded his match with a draw against Wei Yi of China, who is defending his title this year.
In the Challengers section, Rameshbabu Vaishali had a standout performance, winning quickly against 12-year-old Faustino Oro from Argentina. However, Divya Deshmukh faced a tough match and ultimately lost to Nodirbek Yakubboev.
Here’s a brief summary of the Masters standings after Round 1:
- Gukesh (1)
- Keymer (1)
- Harikrishna (1)
- Caruana (0.5)
- Abdusattorov (0.5)
- Wei (0.5)
- Praggnanandhaa (0.5)
- Erigaisi (0)
- Giri (0)
- Mendonca (0)
In the Challengers standings:
- Nguyen (1)
- Yakubboev (1)
- Vaishali (1)
- Lu (1)
- Svane (0.5)
- Suleymanli (0.5)
- Deshmukh (0)
- Oro (0)
Source link
World Chess Champion,Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025,R Praggnanandhaa,Pentala Harikrishna,Fabiano Caruana,D Gukesh,chess india,chess,Anish Giri,AICF
