Indian chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa has etched his name into the history books by climbing to World No. 3 in the live global rankings. This incredible rise followed his victory over World Champion D Gukesh in the opening round of the Sinquefield Cup held in St. Louis, USA.
With a live rating of 2784.1, the 20-year-old Grandmaster now sits just behind Magnus Carlsen (2839) and Hikaru Nakamura (2807). Praggnanandhaa now shares the top spot on the tournament leaderboard with Levon Aronian, who overcame Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in his first match.
The high-stakes Sinquefield Cup, offering a total prize fund of $350,000, is already living up to expectations. Other round one matches ended in draws — with Caruana vs. Duda, Sevian vs. So, and Vachier-Lagrave vs. Firouzja all splitting the points.
The spotlight, however, remained on the all-Indian clash. Gukesh opted for the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, but an early queen trade left him with a weakened setup. Praggnanandhaa leveraged his bishop pair expertly and gained a decisive edge, finishing the game in just 36 moves.
Reflecting on the win, Praggnanandhaa admitted Gukesh seemed slightly off-form. “I think he wasn’t at his best today,” he said. This win also ends his two-year classical drought against Gukesh.
With momentum and confidence building, Praggnanandhaa inches closer to becoming a true icon of Indian chess.