It’s something of a rite of passage in chess — the new champ is a marked man when he first returns to the board. Indian teenager Dommaraju Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion ever when he dethroned Chinese GM Deng Liren in their December title match,

Gukesh grabbed a win from the jaws of defeat, while R Praggnanandhaa also earned a draw after being in a losing position.

World No 2 Fabiano Caruana, has called Gukesh’s match against Anish Giri in the opening round of the Tata Steel chess tournament in the Dutch town of Wijk aan Zee “absolutely insane.” “Yesterday was absolutely insane,” said Caruana.

D Gukesh triumphed in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 opener against Anish Giri, despite Giri's early advantage. Gukesh's strategic play led to a victory following a pivotal mistake by Giri. Other matches saw mixed results for Indian players,

Hikaru Nakamura praised new world champion D Gukesh for showcasing resilience in his opening game of the 2025 Tata Steel Chess tournament against Anish Giri on Sunday.

Gukesh grabbed a win from the jaws of defeat, while R Praggnanandhaa also earned a draw after being in a losing position.

Receiving his Khel Ratna on Friday and then taking a flight to Amsterdam, Gukesh reached here barely hours before the start of the first round

D Gukesh, the defending world champion, was off to a winning start in the 2025 Tata Steel Chess tournament in Netherlands, as he defeated Anish Giri. In other matches, defeated Arjun Erigaisi whereas R Praggnanandhaa played out a draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

D Gukesh draws with Vladimir Fedoseev while Leon Luke Mendonca suffers his second defeat at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament.