M. Pranesh handed D. Gukesh a second successive defeat at the Chennai Grand Masters on Tuesday, beating the World champion in 39 moves to claim the biggest win of his career.

A day after losing to Arjun Erigaisi from a favourable position, Gukesh again allowed an advantage to slip. Pranesh, playing White in the Caro-Kann, castled long and invited complications, even though the approach initially left him under pressure.

Gukesh found the strong Qc7 and Nb4 sequence and appeared close to breaking through. However, he could not make the most of his position, with a timely pawn break on d3 among the opportunities that went begging. His rook move to d5 brought Pranesh back into the contest, before b5 left the youngster firmly in control.

“I think so, yeah,” Pranesh told the media after his match when asked whether beating the reigning World champion was the best win of his career.

The two players have known each other across the board since their age-group days. Pranesh recalled beating Gukesh at an Under-13 event in Mumbai but said he had not managed another win against him until Tuesday.

“I just wanted to create some complications, and it kind of worked,” he said of his opening choice. Pranesh also felt Gukesh’s use of time had played a part. “Maybe he is thinking a lot in the opening and not keeping enough time to win after getting a winning position,” he added.

Pranesh, who said he had prepared for the elite event for only four or five days, moved to three points and joined Nihal Sarin and Dmitry Andreikin in the middle of a tightly packed table.

It was Gukesh’s third loss in six rounds and his second in as many days, leaving him at the bottom of the table with 1.5 points and still searching for his first win. On live ratings, his rating slipped from 2717 at the start of the event to 2702.

Nihal strikes back

Nihal recovered from Monday’s loss to Nodirbek Abdusattorov by defeating Arjun with the black pieces in 60 moves. In a Slav Defence, Nihal gradually took control and entered the closing stages with two dangerous kingside pawns. Arjun’s knight struggled to contain them, and he resigned once the position was no longer salvageable.

The result halted Arjun’s momentum a day after his victory over Gukesh and cost him a share of the lead. He remains on 3.5 points, alongside Abdusattorov, and half a point behind Alireza Firouzja.

Firouzja retained sole possession of first place after holding Abdusattorov to a 41-move draw. The Frenchman neutralised the Uzbek’s pressure before the players reached a level rook ending. Hans Niemann and Andreikin also shared the point in 39 moves, with Andreikin registering his sixth draw in a row.

The final round sets up a direct title clash between Firouzja and Arjun. A win would take Arjun past the leader and keep him in contention for his first Chennai Grand Masters crown, although Abdusattorov can also reach 4.5 points by beating Andreikin. Gukesh faces Niemann, while Nihal plays Pranesh.

Published on Jul 21, 2026