A clinical performance on the prodigy board by GM Leon Luke Mendonca and a last-gasp victory by Nino Batsiashvili powered Alpine SG Pipers into title contention as they beat Fyers American Gambits 10-4 to register their second consecutive win in the Global Chess League in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Arsenal closed out 2025 in emphatic fashion, smashing third-placed Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday to surge five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
R Praggnanandhaa scored a fluent victory over Frenchman Alireza Firouzja to claim the joint lead after the seventh round of the Sinquefield Cup.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa kept himself in hunt for an overall top four finish in the Grand Chess Tour after a draw with Wesley So of the United States in the eighth and penultimate round of the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis (USA).
Aronian sits on six points, followed closely by compatriot Fabiano Caruana on five after two wins and a draw. Gukesh shares the third place with another American, Wesley So, while Vachier-Lagrave and Leinier Dominguez Perez are tied for fifth with three points each.
FIDE World Cup: Gukesh seeded top, Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa second and third
Like Gukesh, Aronian was just able to draw two games and lost one.
R Praggnanandhaa sealed his spot in the Grand Chess Tour finale after finishing runner-up at the Sinquefield Cup.
D Gukesh put his opening-round blues behind him and scored an excellent victory over former world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the second round of the Sinquefield Cup.
In the sixth round Gukesh survived another scare before steering the game to a draw with Firouzja.
Brazil beat Senegal 2-0 in feisty friendly at the Emirates
Gukesh had another eventful game in a Queen pawn opening with black pieces.
Praggnanandhaa held by Sevian; Gukesh draws with Vachier-Lagrave.
Gukesh, Erigaisi snapped up by PBG Alaskan Knights in GCL draft
Carlsen to fight for third place after wins over Arjun and Praggnanandhaa
World champion D Gukesh was held to a draw by the lone wild card Samuel Sevian, while fellow Indian R Praggnanandhaa also split the point with Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
Grand Chess tour: Gukesh takes big 3-point lead in Rapid section of Super United
Grand Chess Tour: Gukesh in joint lead with Carlsen and Wesley So after day one
World champion GM D Gukesh finished tied sixth as Levon Aronian of USA convincingly won the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz that concluded in St Louis.
Grand Chess tour: Magnus wins Super United Rapid and blitz with a round to spare
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa took down World No 1 Magnus Carlsen to advance to the top-bracket quarter-finals along with Arjun Erigaisi at the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour.
'Last year, I messed up some good positions against him, I think I did not beat him (in classical) for almost two years now, so finally it's good to get a win.'
Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa finished in sixth and seventh position respectively, even as Grandmaster Levon Aronian of the United States reigned supreme in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam.
Arjun prevailed over Abdusattorov 1.5-0.5 while Praggnanandhaa lost an intense battle 3-4 against Caruana.
India hosts the event from a position of unprecedented strength with a string of titles under its belt.
Superbet Classic: Praggnanadhaa beats Wesley; in sole lead
Without Carlsen, the GCT was announced and this is the culmination point wherein the players would qualify for the grand finale slated later this year.
Praggnanandhaa draws with Aronian, shares top spot at Superbet Classic
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Superbet Classic: Praggnanandhaa in joint lead with three others
'I see an unjust personal attack by some players, probably due to sheer jealousy.'
Gukesh is currently sharing the 8th spot on 1.5 points along with Abdusattorov and Duda.
World champion Dommaraju Gukesh was beaten by compatriot Ramesh Praggnanandhaa and ended up two points behind Magnus Carlsen, with 15.5, in the Super United Rapid and Blitz Chess Tournament in Zagreb, Croatia, on Saturday.
The likes of Arjun Erigaisi on the top board will be assisted by P Harikrishna on the second board.
Flamengo overturned a first-half deficit to defeat Chelsea 3-1 in their Club World Cup Group D clash on Friday, with second-half goals from Bruno Henrique, Danilo, and Wallace Yan securing the Brazilian side's second consecutive win in the tournament.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa played out a draw with Duda Jan-Krzysztof of Poland to maintain joint lead with 3.5 points
Taking his tally up to two points out of a possible four, Anand now has his task cut out for the remaining five games in this strongest tournament of the year. The world rapid champion needs a couple of victories to stake a claim in the tournament.
Defending champion Viswanathan Anand's quest to retain the crown suffered a decisive setback after he played out a draw with American Wesley So in the fifth and penultimate round of the Bilbao Masters Final Chess Tournament in Bilbao.
The Indian doubles ace and the South African will team up at the Australian Open.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won the Superbet Chess Classic after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with white pieces in the final Blitz play-off game on Friday.
