Chess
2025 Sinquefield Cup: Praggnanandhaa beats Firouzja to take joint lead
World champion Gukesh Dommaraju lost out to Wesley So.
R Praggnanandhaa (Photo credit: Grand Chess Tour/Twitter)
India's Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu took down Alireza Firouzja in seventh round of the 2025 Sinquefield Cup on Monday.
Praggnanandhaaa, playing with the black pieces, employed the Sicilian defense against the French Grandmaster, who has been struggling in the tournament.
Praggnanandhaa had a slightly better position right out of the opening and a untimely pawn push from Firouzja on the d-file with the 19th move further put the Indian in control.
The 20-year-old Praggnanandhaa grabbed the opportunity with both hands, forcing a resignation out of Firouzja 12 moves later.
The win propelled an unbeaten Praggnanandhaa to 4.5 points out of a possible seven points at the 2025 Sinquefield Cup. With two rounds of play left, he is now in joint lead along with Fabiano Caruana.
Gukesh loses
Elsewhere, the reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju's troubles in the tournament compounded further as he lost out to Wesely So with the black pieces.
Gukesh was outplayed in the Ruy Lopez by the American and the Indian eventually resigned after 39 moves into the match.
Gukesh is now joint-eighth in the standings with just 3 points in seven rounds at the 2025 Sinquefield Cup. He has four draws, one win, and two losses int he tournament.
