D Gukesh finally snapped his winless run at the Prague International Chess Festival on Friday, signing off from the tournament with a victory over Spain’s David Anton Guijarro in the ninth and final round of the Masters section. Aravindh Chithambaram, meanwhile, continued to impress as he finished joint-second in the standings with a victory over Czech Grandmaster David Navara.

Friday’s fixtures marked the conclusion of what was another forgettable campaign for Indian chess star Gukesh, whose performance graph has
witnessed a sharp decline since he had been crowned the youngest world champion in December 2024.

How Gukesh collected his first win in Prague

The 19-year-old, after all, had
failed to win a single game in the previous eight rounds, suffering three defeats along the way including against compatriot Aravindh as well as world No 5 Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The struggling champion was additionally dealing with the challenge of playing as black against Guijarro in his quest to sign off with a victory.

The Chennai lad, however, appeared to regain his form and was far more accurate compared to the Spaniard on the day. While the two players were largely on level terms for the first 40 moves with Guijarro also leading Gukesh on the clock, it was the latter’s accuracy that proved to be the difference.

Gukesh was quick to capitalise on a couple of errors late in the game and began breathing down his opponent’s neck in a rook and bishop endgame, forcing a resignation in 56 moves in the end.

Gukesh and Guijarro finished at the bottom of the table with 3.5 points each, the latter concluding his campaign with a hat-trick of defeats.

Aravind wins error-strewn game to finish joint-second

Aravindh, who had won this event last year, defeated Navara while playing as white in a game that witnessed both players make commit blunders along the way. The 26-year-old, however, put the veteran Czech GM under considerable pressure, chipping away at all of his pieces and eventually knocking every single black pawn off the board.

With a three-pawn advantage and a knight to block a rook, it was only a matter of time before Aravindh walked away with a fourth win in nine outings and a second on the trot, and he eventually did in 64 moves.

PICF has its first ever two-time Masters champion! ♟️🏆
After winning in 2024, Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov adds another triumph in 2026. 👑 @NodirbekGM pic.twitter.com/nEdFAJDPqo

— Prague International Chess Festival (@PragueChess) March 6, 2026

Nodirbek, meanwhile, was crowned champion, finishing as the undisputed leader with 6 points in nine rounds after collecting three wins – including against Gukesh and Aravindh – and six draws. It’s the second consecutive trophy for the Uzbekistani GM, who had won the prestigious Tata Steel Chess just last month.

There has been a clear struggle for Gukesh to maintain his status as the world champion since he won the title in December 2024

D Gukesh continued his poor form to suffer another loss, this time at the hands of fellow Indian Aravindh Chithambaram, at the 2026 Prague International Chess Festival. The reigning world champion now has three losses in six outings at the ongoing tournament apart from three draws.

The loss pushed the 19-year-old down to the last spot in the standings in Prague and he also fell to world No 20 in live ratings due to this loss. As Gukesh struggles to find consistency, the pressure rises on the youngster for his world title defence that is scheduled to take place later this year.

Gukesh makes another late error

The reigning world champion struggled on time and due to the pressure of clock, ultimately he made a match-losing error. Right before both players were to get an extra 40 minutes on move 40, Gukesh made a blunder and Aravindh took his time to find the winning move and earn his first win of the tournament.

Gukesh had an extra rook and a pawn for Aravindh’s pair of knights with engine putting the latter marginally ahead. However, under time pressure, Gukesh made a blunder through his rook and Aravindh punished it. In the last round too, the teenager had
lost due to time against Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

“One of the crucial factors today, I believe, was the time situation. He (Gukesh) was actually getting low on time and with two knights on the board, it actually can get tricky like it happened in the game. So I wanted to not let him find a direct way to equalize the position. Time actually played a crucial factor,” Aravindh said after his win.

“It was a hard game for both of us. Coming into the game, both of us were having a bad tournament,” Aravindh added. “It was very hard to actually play this game, but I’m happy that I broke my losing streak and managed to win a single game.”

For Gukesh, the continued underperformance is a big warning bell in a year where he has defend his world championship. He is currently 10th and last in Prague with three rounds remaining.