Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa wins maiden Grand Chess Tour event in Romania, Gukesh finishes 6th

May 16, 2025, ended on a historic note for Indian sports fans. Javelin star Neeraj Chopra breached the 90-metre mark for the first time in his career. The Indian won a silver medal in the Diamond League in Doha, Qatar's capital. History was also made around the same time in Bucharest, some 4200 kilometres away from Doha.

Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won the Chess Classic Romania 2025, his first Grand Chess Tour victory.

Three-way tie

The main event ended in a three-way tie. Praggnanandhaa, French Grandmasters Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave—all three of them finished on 5.5 points after 10 rounds.

Tiebreaker, blitz playoffs

Tie-break 1: The game between Alireza Firouzja and Praggnanandhaa ended in a draw. Both players were awarded 0.5 points.

Tie-break 2: The game between the two French Grandmasters ended in a draw. Both players were awarded 0.5 points.

Tie-break 3: Praggnanandhaa defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in just 16 seconds and got 1 point to win the tournament.

Prize money and points

Praggnanandhaa earned $77,667 (roughly Rs. 66, 48, 345) as prize money and was awarded 10 Grand Chess Tour (GCT) points. The 19-year-old youngster from Chennai expressed his feelings on Social media.

Gukesh finishes joint-sixth

Top-seeded Gukesh, the current World Chess champion could only finish 6th in the event. Gukesh earned $17,125 (roughly Rs. 14, 65, 911) and got 3.5 GCT points.

Grand Chess Tour 2025

Praggnanandhaa finished third in the ‘Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland’ event held in Warsaw last month. The next event ‘SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia’ will happen in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.