D Gukesh breaks down, devastated and crushed after shock Tata Chess Masters tie-breaker defeat to R Praggnanandhaa

History was created on Sunday in Wijk aan Zee as R Praggnanandhaa defeated D Gukesh in the playoffs to win the Tata Steel Chess Masters 2025 title. Both grandmasters were left disappointed in Round 13 as they lost their games. Arjun Erigaisi was in resurgent form and beat Gukesh in 31 moves. Meanwhile, Vincent Keymer edged past R Praggnanandhaa in a seven-hour marathon.

Then in the blitz playoffs, Gukesh won the first game, but then lost the next two to Praggnanandhaa, who reigned supreme. Gukesh was devastated by the result, and those emotions were totally visible on his face. The reigning defending world champion was earlier in sole lead, but poor results towards the end saw him end up in a tie-breaker position and then it came crashing down in the playoffs.

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The final tie-breaker game saw Gukesh run out of time as he gave up, with a shellshocked expression on his face. The fans didn’t expect Gukesh to be in this position, nor did the 18-year-old. Gukesh fell back on his seat and looked up at the ceiling, leaving Praggnanandhaa stunned.

Here is the video of a devastated D Gukesh:

The Challengers section was won by GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen. In the third game of the tie-breaker, Praggnanandhaa copied Ding Liren’s strategy of the London System, as that was his opening. Initially, Gukesh got to a pawn-up endgame, but then he couldn’t find the winning 30…Bd6! Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa bagged his pawn back. The pair, also good friends, were in a dead-equal position, knight and three pawns vs knight and three pawns. It went down the wire as Gukesh ultimately ran out of time and lost with a painful blunder.

Speaking after his win, Praggnanandhaa said, “When I came here, I wanted to win the event. But the field was very strong. I didn’t really think about it much until yesterday. Can’t really express… I’m really happy.”

Commenting on Arjun’s win, he said, “I didn’t really expect (Arjun to beat Gukesh). Because at some point felt that Gukesh was actually better. When I saw the result (of Gukesh vs Arjun), I had already misplayed and I was in such a difficult position that I could not really do much than sit and defend. I didn’t think practically I had any chance in my own position.”