R Praggnanandhaa is one favourable round away from what would be a big win and a continuation of his strong showing in 2025. He is the sole leader with five points at the Superbet Chess Classic played in Bucharest in Romania. Three other players are on 4.5 each. If Praggnanandhaa wins, it’s done. If he loses, it becomes wide open. It he draws, anything can happen.
That’s how close and full of possibilities it can become towards the closing stages of elite chess tournaments. Unless there is a Magnus Carlsen running away with it, these are usually closely-fought affairs. Consistency matters more than flashes of brilliance. It’s a like a marathon, where the runner saving his best for the last takes home the winner’s prize.
Praggnanandhaa has seen both sides of it in the last five months. At the Tata Steel event in January — the first mega competition of the year — he tied with Gukesh after 13 rounds, lost the first tie-break game in rapid, restored parity, and won on blitz to snatch the biggest title of his life. Not many have won this competition at 19 years of age.
The youngster experienced the opposite at the Prague Masters in March. This wasn’t as elite a gathering as Tata Steel, but the 10-player field had six rated above 2700. Heading into the final day tied on five points with Aravindh Chithambaram, he lost to Anish Giri. Aravindh won the title and Praggnanandhaa settled for fourth despite finishing tied second on points with two others.
Timely wins to take lead
In Bucharest — where five of the 10 participants are from the world’s top 10 and nine are rated above 2700 — the players have not given each other an inch. Twelve of the 40 games played so far have produced results. Romania’s Bogdan-Daniel Deac, the only one rated below 2700 at 2668, has not lost a game after beginning with a defeat. In fact, he has held both Indians to draws.
Praggnanandhaa has managed to squeeze out wins at important junctures. After two draws, including one against Gukesh in the first round, the World No. 7 put it across No. 6 Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan with white pieces in the third round. Four more draws followed. The Chennai star then converted his advantage with black against No. 11 Wesley So of the US.
Not beaten yet in Bucharest
Most importantly, the player turning 20 in August has not suffered a single defeat yet. World No. 5, and one of three in the chasing pack, Fabiano Caruana of the USA is the only other player in Bucharest to have remained unbeaten after eight rounds. Known for his willingness to take risks and pull off stunning moves, Praggnanandhaa was also vulnerable at the back at times.
In 2025, this famous ward of Grandmaster RB Ramesh has managed to address that, which is why the good work he is doing is getting reflected on the points table. Earlier, gallantry often resulted in zero points. Now, being more watchful means even a bad day can fetch half a point. In 2025, he has played 31 classical games, won 11, drawn 17 and lost just three.
Strong chance
Praggnanandhaa must fancy his chances with white against Levon Aronian in the last round. The 43-year-old American is ranked 13th in the world, but not having a great time in Bucharest. With Gukesh and So, he is on 3.5 points, half a point above the bottom-placed Jan-Krysztof Duda of Poland. Gukesh’s first win of the event came against him in the eighth round.
Of those who can challenge Praggnanandhaa, Caruana faces Gukesh. The Indian will play with white pieces. Alireza Firouzja of France is ranked ninth in the world and takes on Deac with black. The Romanian has been a hard nut to crack in his home event. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, ranked 23rd, plays Duda with white.
Possibilities aside, this is a big chance for Praggnanandhaa to win another top-flight international title. He is not part of Norway Chess coming up later this month, where Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi will represent India in a six-player field featuring Carlsen. This could be Praggnanandhaa’s moment under the sun before the spotlight shifts to Stavanger in Norway.