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In a high-stakes match between citizens, Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa overcame nerves and exhaustion to defeat world champion D Gukesh and win his first-ever Tata Steel Masters title. In the tiebreaker of the tournament’s 87th edition on Sunday, the 19-year-old from Chennai pulled off an incredible comeback to defeat the 18-year-old 2-1.
Praggnanandhaa’s triumph made him the first Indian to win the coveted title since Viswanathan Anand in 2006.
“It was very long, close to eight hours, the first game itself lasted like 6.5 hours and then we had this blitz, it was a crazy day,” he remarked. Regarding the significance of this victory, Praggnanandhaa stated, “This is a very special event in the chess world and I have seen games from this tournament growing up. Last year, it did not go my way so I was really motivated for this tournament.”
In discussing the initial two matches of the tiebreaker, where he experienced one loss and subsequently secured a victory, Praggnanandhaa remarked that the loss in the first game was avoidable, stating, “I should have just taken the draw.”
During the second game, Gukesh held a strong position but was ultimately outmaneuvered. In the decisive third game, Praggnanandhaa found himself on the defensive with the white pieces once more, yet he managed to uncover some effective moves. Gukesh, in turn, became overly ambitious in a situation that could have ended in a draw.
(Newsroom staff only edited this story for style from a syndicated feed)
