Overview

• He defeated Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov with Black in the final classical round in Tashkent to force a three-way tie and then prevailed in blitz tiebreaks to claim the UzChess Cup Masters.
• The win lifted his live rating to a career-best 2778.3, moving him ahead of Arjun Erigaisi and reigning world champion D Gukesh in the rankings.
• This marks his third major classical triumph of the year after playoff victories at the Tata Steel Masters and the Superbet Chess Classic Romania.
• Under coach RB Ramesh’s guidance and with second Vaibhav Suri’s support, Praggnanandhaa has embraced a more aggressive, varied opening repertoire and excelled under high-pressure formats.
• His ascent underscores a generational shift in Indian chess as a new wave of grandmasters challenges the established global elite.