By Shubhangi Chauhan
The defending world chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju overcame an initial blow when he lost his opening match to compatriot R. Praggnanandhaa by coming back with a hard fought defeat of Uzbek opponent Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the second round of Sinquefield Cup 2025 at St. Louis.
The 19 year old Chennai Grandmaster took to the white pieces in a Ruy Lopez against Abdusattorov and won the game in 50 moves following a topsy-turvy match after each of them lost chances. Gukesh took a lead through the miscalculation of his rival in the 17th move but lost it temporarily as a result of 21.Ndf3. But a time-troubled mistake in Abdusattorov turned out to give Gukesh the advantage and the Uzbek had to resign.
This victory came as a sweet revenge to Gukesh who previously in an interview after losing to Praggnanandhaa in the opening round had said that the match was one of the worst games that he had played.It was good to rebound like this, especially when yesterday was probably one of the worst games that I had played. Speaking after the match, Gukesh said, “If I want two draws or lose and win I would like to lose and win.”
At the same time, Praggnanandhaa with the whites drew against American top Fabiano Caruana in 36 moves. Caruana told the post-game press conference that having faltered after the opening campaign he was a little worried but was comfortable in holding.
In the other match of the day that was decided, the French Alireza Firouzja beat the Polish Jan-Krzysztof Duda in a marathon 100-move match.
Praggnanandhaa, Firouzja, and Levon Aronian are in first place with 1.5 points after the second game. Gukesh is second with 1 point. In round three, Gukesh will play against American GM Sam Sevian and Praggnanandhaa will play against Abdusattorov, both with the black pieces.