Sinquefield Cup: Gukesh bounces back, Praggnanandhaa draws against Caruana
The World Champion, D Gukesh bounced back in the second round of Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2025. A new chapter added in the ever-growing rivalry between Gukesh and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB). Their battles are always irrespective format and stake. This one was no different either. Gukesh used his preparation to get himself a better position out of the opening. However, his opponent had a couple of tiny chances which he missed. Alireza Firouzja (FRA) won another sharp battle of the round against Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL). R Praggnanadhaa had a solid draw against Fabiano Caruana (USA). Round 3 starts today at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
White wins two
Alireza Firouzja, Levon Aronian and R Praggnanandhaa are at 1.5/2 each after the first two rounds.
Gukesh - Abdusattorov: 1-0
The battle between D Gukesh (2776) and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2771) are always exciting. They have clashed a dozen times in Classical format, Gukesh won two and Abdusattorov won one. The remaining nine games ended in draws. Their last decisive game was played in August 2022 at 44th Olympiad. The World Champion got his prep in for a long time in the game which he shared in the post-game interview.
Gukesh was not sure why his opponent could not play 17...Qc6 after 17.Ba2. The game continued 18.b4 Nd7 19.Bxc4 bxc4 20.Ra5 Qc6 21.Ndf3 and White went on to win a sharp battle. Check out the analysis by the World Champion with GM Yasser Seirawan and IM Nazi Paikidze.
Praggnanandhaa - Caruana: 0.5-0.5
R Praggnanandhaa (2779) and Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2784) have played a dozen Classical games against each other. Caruana and Praggnanandhaa won two games each, the remaining eight games ended in draws. Their 13th Classical game was a solid draw.
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Schedule and Format
Sinquefield Cup will have one round per day from 18th to 27th August. Rest day is on Saturday 23rd August. Each round starts at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. GCT Playoffs if required will take place on 28th August.
Round 2 results
Standings after Round 2
Round 3 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 2683 | GM | Sevian, Samuel | GM | Gukesh, D | 2776 | 5 | ||
| 2 | 7 | 2771 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2779 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 10 | 2784 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | 2766 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 9 | 2736 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | GM | Aronian, Levon | 2737 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 2725 | GM | Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | GM | So, Wesley | 2745 | 3 |
GCT standings
Prize
The total prize fund for each Classical event is US$ 350000. The top three prizes are US$ 100000, $65000 and $48000.
Links
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