Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi crashed through the defences of world number three Hikaru Nakamura of United States, while R Praggnanandhaa went down to compatriot D Gukesh in the second round of Candidates chess tournament in Toronto.
Young GM R Praggnanandhaa on Friday won both rapid games to eliminate second-seeded Hikaru Nakamura to enter the last 16 of the FIDE World Cup chess tournament in Baku.
Praggnanandhaa is on his own at the Azerbaijan capital of Baku as his personal coach RB Ramesh is away in another country.
The trophy was unveiled during a colourful opening ceremony which was attended by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and FIDE chief Arkady Dvorkovich.
Praggnanandhaa blundered for the second day running and lost to Richard Rapport of Romania in the third round
Looking to assert his supremacy across formats, reigning world champion D Gukesh of India began his campaign in the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with a crushing victory over France's Etienne Bacrot in the first round.
Indian GM Praggnanandhaa wins Super GM chess tourney in Hungary
Another game to end through repetition of moves was between Gukesh and Gujrathi.
R Praggnanandhaa was the best Indian with an overall third place finish
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is still third on 9.5 points in the Norway Chess tournament.
Gujrathi and Erigaisi will represent India in the men's individual event while Koneru Humpy and D Harika will do so in the women's section.
The 17-year-old Gukesh is in joint lead with Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Neither current World Champion D Gukesh nor former world champion Vishy Anand are the top rated Indian chess player.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa wrote a golden chapter in Indian chess history by becoming only the second player from the country after Viswanathan Anand -- and the youngest -- to play in the FIDE World Cup final.
The Indian challenge in the women's section might already have ended as Zhongyi stood firmly ahead on five points while Goryachkina had 4.5 points in her kitty.
World Champion D Gukesh suffered his second straight defeat at the FIDE Grand Swiss, losing to Greece's Nikolas Theodorou in the sixth round in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
The difference in rating does not count much but going by form and records, India's numero uno player R Praggnanandhaa will start as one of the favourites in the third edition of Grand Chess Tour rapid and blitz tournament in Zagreb, Croatia, starting on Wednesday.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi scored crushing victories, while D Gukesh held on to the joint top spot with a draw in a brilliant sixth-round outing for the Indian men's team at the Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was accorded a rousing reception upon his arrival at the airport in Chennai on Wednesday.
The conclusive champion of this tournament is set to be determined on Thursday.
'It was 2 am, my parents were asleep. I woke my dad up and said: 'I won'.' 'He said, 'Good' and then went back to sleep because he had to go to office the next day.'
World champion D Gukesh's struggles continued as he slumped to a third successive defeat, losing to 16-year-old Turkish Grandmaster Ediz Gurel in the seventh round of the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Thursday.
Praggnanandhaa, who has reached the summit clash featuring legendary five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, had none other than the iconic Gary Kasparov, acknowledging the Indian GM's mother's role
Grand Chess tour: Magnus wins Super United Rapid and blitz with a round to spare
Hungary will officially host the 45th edition of the Olympiad for the first time, having hosted the second unofficial Chess Olympiad in 1926.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa went down to World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in the FIDE Chess World Cup final, in Baku, on Thursday.
Rameshbabu is no expert of the complex patterns of chess that his son R Praggnanandhaa has mastered so deeply. He is just an understanding father who is happy to work as a supporting force to the whiz kid.
The FIDE World Cup for chess will be held between October 30 and November 27, 2025.
American Abhimanyu Mishra, 16, became the youngest-ever player in the history of chess to beat a reigning World Champion in the classical format.
World Junior champion Pranav Venkatesh scored a crushing victory over Grandmaster Alan Pichot of Spain to win the Fujairah Global Superstars chess tournament.
"This is no small feat", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as he led the nation in hailing young Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa's runner-up finish.
Defending champion and Grandmaster R Vaishali jumped into sole lead in the women's section
Praggnanandhaa draws with Aronian, shares top spot at Superbet Classic
Teenaged Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa drew the second game of the FIDE World Cup semifinal against American GM Fabiano Caruana on Sunday to push the contest into a tie-break.
By becoming only the second Indian after legendary Vishwanathan Anand to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, Praggnanandhaa booked a spot in the Candidates event in 2024 to determine the challenger to Ding Liren.
Young Indian International Master V Pranav finished with 6.5 points after losing to Predke in the final round.
Carlsen wins 1st game of World Cup quarterfinal against Gukesh; Erigaisi outwits Praggnanandhaa to take lead
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.
Gukesh never got a chance against Mamedov who is known as a theoretician.
Praggnanandhaa, who received a grand welcome in Chennai on Wednesday, said he is delighted that chess is getting attention in the country.
