NEW DELHI: India’s chess dominance continued as Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram clinched the Prague Masters 2025 title, marking the first major triumph of his career. The 25-year-old finished ahead of elite players, including compatriot R Praggnanandhaa, after scoring six points from nine rounds.
In the final round, Aravindh held Gurel Ediz of Turkey to a draw, strategically opting for the Caro-Kann Defense. Despite sacrificing a pawn early, he navigated the complications well, forcing a repetition as Ediz struggled to capitalise on the material advantage.
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Reflecting on his victory, Aravindh admitted to feeling pressure after taking the lead in the seventh round. “I have not slept well in the last two days,” he revealed, crediting his mentor GM RB Ramesh for his success and highlighting his clash against Anish Giri as his best game of the tournament.
Meanwhile, World No. 8 Praggnanandhaa finished tied second on five points, falling short after a loss to Giri in the final round. The Dutch GM outmaneuvered Praggnanandhaa in a King’s Indian Defense, winning a rook for a minor piece to secure victory.
In other final-round results, David Navara drew with Sam Shankland, while Nguyen Thai Dai Van nearly defeated Vincent Keymer. In the Challengers’ section, Divya Deshmukh closed on a high note with a win against Stamatis Kourkoulous-Arditis, as Nodirbek Yakubboev and Jonas Buhk Bjerre shared the top spot with seven points each.
Aravindh’s victory solidifies his status among the world’s best, and with a live rating of 2743, he now ranks World No. 14, setting the stage for more top-tier tournament invitations.
Results final round:
Gurel Ediz (Tur, 4.5) drew with Aravindh Chithambaram (Ind, 6); David Navara (Cze, 4) drew with Sam Shankland (Usa, 4); Anish Giri (Ned, 5) beat R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5); Quang Liem Le (Vie, 4) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 5); Nguyen Thai Dai Van (Cze, 2.5) playing Vincent Keymer (Ger, 4).
Challengers: Divya Deshmukh (3) beat Stamatis Kourkoulous-Arditis (Gre, 3); Ma Qun (CHn, 5.5) beat Richard Stalmach (Cze, 3); Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 7) drew with Finek Vaclav (Cze, 4); Jonas Buhl Bjerre (Den, 7) beat Nemec Jychym (Cze, 2.5); Marc’andria Maurizzi (Fra, 6) got a walk over against Ivan Salgado Lopez (Esp, 4).