Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2026: Pranesh stuns World Champion Gukesh

By admin July 22, 2026 0 comments

The World Champion, D Gukesh suffered his second consecutive loss, third of the event, against Pranesh M in Round 6 of Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2026.

Nihal beats Arjun for the second year in-a-row

World Champion D Gukesh got a winning position for the second consecutive round. However, once again he fumbled it and lost the game. What he needs now is a complete break from chess and play Olympiad directly. Playing at his present condition is doing him more harm than good, He is on the verge of dropping below 2700 now.

Nihal Sarin, for the second consecutive year, defeated Arjun Erigaisi at the same event. The result allowed Alireza Firouzja to regain his sole lead 4/6. Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Arjun are at 3.5/6 each.

Hans Niemann (USA) – Dmitry Andreikin: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Anmol Bhargav

Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) – Alireza Firouzja (FRA): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Anmol Bhargav

Arjun – Nihal: 1-0

Arjun Erigaisi (2757) and Nihal Sarin (2717) played six Classical rated games against each other. Five of them ended in draws. Nihal won their last encounter last year at the very same event, nearly a year ago. The result was the same once again this time.

Position after 42…Rxb5

White should not have traded the rooks in the above diagram as the resultant knight vs bishop endgame is lost. Black has an extra pawn which is a center passed pawn and a decisive factor in the game. 43.Ra7 f6 44.Nd3+ would have kept the game going.

Nihal Sarin beat Arjun Erigaisi at the same event for the second consecutive year | Photo: Anmol Bhargav

Pranesh – Gukesh: 1-0

Pranesh (2666) has won both Classical rated games he played against D Gukesh (2717). He had the white pieces for their third battle and the result was the same. For the second game in-a-row, Gukesh got himself a decisive advantage. However, he was unable to make the most out of it.

Position after 21…Nxb4

🎯 Read Also: FIDE Elections 2026 Announced

The World Champion, D Gukesh correctly found 21…Nxb4! 22.Kb2 Nc6?! a strange retreat. Instead, 22…d3 would have maintained Black’s advantage. Soon Black started playing strangely and the position spiralled out of control.