Despite beating reigning world champion D Gukesh in the blitz tie-breaks to win the prestigious Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, R Praggnanandhaa will not be in action in the opening event of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Germany. Here’s why.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa pulled off arguably the biggest triumph of his career so far after winning the 2025 Tata Steel Masters, beating the likes of reigning world champion D Gukesh as well as Arjun Erigaisi to become only the second Indian to win the prestigious event after the legendary Viswanathan Anand.
Gukesh was a strong favourite for the title after his victory over Ding Liren in the FIDE World Championship showdown in Singapore in December and did put up a superb tight to remain in joint-lead till the very last round, resulting in the title being decided in blitz tie-breaks.
Praggnanandhaa, however, highlighted the depth in India’s golden chess generation by beating Gukesh as well as Arjun, who was among the front-runners but ultimately finished a disappointing 10th, to the title.
Pragg, as he is popularly known, led the ‘Masters’ standings for the better part of the tournament. And when it came to the tie-breaks, he held his nerve despite being 0-1 down to beat Gukesh in the next two games and take home the trophy as well as the prize money.
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