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World Champion D Gukesh defeated David Anton Guijarro in the final round of the Prague Chess Festival. Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the tournament.
D Gukesh (Picture credit: PTI)
World Champion D Gukesh ended his winless streak by defeating Spain’s David Anton Guijarro in the ninth and final round of the Masters section of the Prague International Chess Festival.
Aravindh Chithambaram also shone in the last round, defeating the Czech Republic’s David Navara to finish joint second.
After a series of draws and three losses earlier in the tournament, Gukesh finally showcased his skills in a well-played game, overpowering Guijarro, who suffered his third consecutive loss and was outmatched in creativity and the endgame.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the tournament after an easy draw with white against the United States’ Hans Moke Niemann. Abdusattorov, who previously won the Tata Steel Masters in February, remained unbeaten here with three victories and six draws.
Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran, Jorden van Foreest of Holland, and Aravindh each scored five points to tie for the second spot. Aravindh made an excellent recovery towards the end, playing his trademark complicated chess and creating threats on both sides of the board against Navara.
After leading the tournament for the first seven rounds, Van Foreest faltered and suffered his second straight loss to Maghsoodloo. David Navara and Uzbek Nodirbek Yakubboev tied for the fifth spot with 4.5 points, just ahead of Germany’s Vincent Keymer and Niemann, while Gukesh and Guijarro tied for ninth in the ten-player round-robin tournament.
In the Challengers’ section, Divya Deshmukh defeated Czech Republic’s Hrbek Stepan to finish in a commendable third place. This result will surely send warning signals to her opponents ahead of the Women’s Candidates’ Tournament in Cyprus at the end of the month.
Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly ended on a high note, defeating higher-rated Benjamin Gledura of Hungary in his final game. Sixteen-year-old Finek Vanclav of Czech Republic scored an impressive 6.5 points to win the event, half a point ahead of Spain’s Daniel Yuffa.
Results: Masters: Vincent Keymer (Ger, 4) lost to Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 4.5); Parham Maghsoodloo (Iri, 5) beat Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 5); David Anton Guijarro (Esp, 3.5) lost to D Gukesh (Ind, 3.5); Aravindh Chithambaram (Ind, 5) beat David Navara (Cze, 4.5); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 6) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (Usa, 4).
Challengers: Jonas Bjerre Buhl (Den, 4.5) beat Zhu Jiner (Chn, 2.5); Thomas Beerdsen (Ned, 4) lost to Finek Vanclav (Cze, 6.5); Nemec Jachym (Cze, 4.5) lost to Daniil Yuffa (Esp, 6); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (Ind, 4) beat Benjamin Gledura (Hun, 4.5); Hrbek Stepan (Cze, 3.5) lost to Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 5).
March 06, 2026, 22:08 IST
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