Indian chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa secured his first victory at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2026, ending a nine-round winless streak against compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram. He dismissed suggestions that his poor form stems from concealing preparation for the upcoming FIDE Candidates 2026. Praggnanandhaa emphasized that he has not yet begun training for the event.
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2026, often dubbed the 'Wimbledon of Chess,' is underway in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. R Praggnanandhaa, the sole Indian qualifier for the FIDE Candidates 2026 scheduled for March-April, had struggled with two initial losses and subsequent draws, raising concerns about his readiness for the tournament that will determine the challenger to world champion D Gukesh.
In Round 9, Praggnanandhaa broke through with white pieces, defeating Aravindh Chithambaram in 84 moves. Speaking to organizers post-match, he described the game as unexpectedly winnable after appearing headed for a draw. "I haven’t been able to score a single win, but today I wasn’t really expecting to score, to be honest," Praggnanandhaa said. "At some point, I really thought it would be a draw. But then it started to slowly become tricky and towards the end, once I got my rook active and it’s quite tricky. And also I must have missed simpler wins towards the end, but at least I didn’t screw it up, so I managed to keep control and I managed to do it."
Addressing his overall form, Praggnanandhaa attributed the challenges to strong play from opponents, including Nodirbek Abdusattorov in Round 2. "I started with two losses, which is not a great thing. And since then, my opponents have also been playing well. I didn’t really get many chances. I was just trying to play my best and see if I’ll get any chances. It’s not really great, but still, I think, getting the first one is good."
On speculation that he was intentionally underperforming to mask Candidates preparation, Praggnanandhaa was unequivocal. "I don’t think it has anything to do with it, because I haven’t even started preparing," he stated. "So it has nothing to do with it. It’s not even that the second game was bad. I think it’s more like the first game was bad and then the second game, Nodirbek (Abdusattorov) played a really good game. So, I mean, then you have two losses, then you need momentum to get into the tournament, which I was not getting. Overall, my play is not as bad as the result looks, but hopefully it will improve."
Despite the slow start, Praggnanandhaa trails leader Abdusattorov, who has 6 points, by two points with four rounds remaining. A strong finish could still position him for the title.
