Daijiworld Media Network – Tashkent
Tashkent, Jun 28: In a landmark moment for Indian chess, Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa emerged victorious at the UzChess Cup Masters 2025 in Tashkent on Friday, becoming the top-ranked Indian player in live ratings and rising to World No. 4 — his highest career ranking to date.
The 19-year-old’s win pushed his live rating to 2778.3, allowing him to leapfrog World Champion D Gukesh (2776.6) and Arjun Erigaisi (2775.7), who had briefly held the top Indian spot before slipping to World No. 6. The global top three remains unchanged: Magnus Carlsen (2839.2), Hikaru Nakamura (2807.0), and Fabiano Caruana (2784.2).
Praggnanandhaa’s road to the title was filled with high-pressure moments. He entered the final day of the tournament trailing behind Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov. A critical win over Abdusattorov in the final round allowed him to catch up, finishing with 5.5 points — level with both local players at the top of the leaderboard.
A tiebreak was required to decide the winner. In the first blitz double round-robin, all three players ended with two points. Praggnanandhaa beat both opponents with white pieces but lost to each with black, keeping the title up for grabs. In the second tiebreak, he drew with Abdusattorov and beat Sindarov, while Sindarov’s victory over Abdusattorov ultimately sealed the title for the Indian prodigy.
This victory marks Praggnanandhaa’s third major title of the year, following triumphs at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament and the Superbet Classic in Romania. He was also runner-up at the Stepan Avagyan Memorial earlier this month.
Legendary five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand hailed the youngster’s performance on social media: “Congrats to @rpraggnachess for winning the Uzbekistan Chess Cup. Third major classical victory this year. Of all his wins, this one seemed the least likely with just two rounds to go.”
Praising Praggnanandhaa’s composure under pressure, Anand added, “In an impressive demonstration of character, he won his third tiebreak of the year as well. He is deservedly the new number four in the chess world and the highest rated player in India.”
With this latest feat, Praggnanandhaa continues to cement his place among the world’s elite, reaffirming the bright future of Indian chess on the global stage.