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

File photo of Aravindh Chithambaram.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

D Gukesh began his campaign at the 2026 Prague Chess Festival Masters with back-to-back draws, having to fight his way to safety against American Grandmaster Hans Niemann in the first of those on Wednesday. The reigning Classical world champion is known for his fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude, and it was that fighting spirit that helped Gukesh rescue half-a-point against Niemann.

How Gukesh survived against Niemann

Niemann, a late replacement for Czech GM Thai Dai van Nguyen, had pushed Gukesh on the backfoot by sacrificing his knight in the 13th move (13.f4 Nxd3) after the game developed from a Berlin Defense opening. The American piled pressure on Gukesh by pushing his queen forward (14. Qxd3) and later putting his bishop in a dangerous position (15. Ba6).

Gukesh, however, is someone who is known to thrive in difficult situations with his ability to remain calm and calculate his way to safety or a position of strength. After a Queen exchange in the 18th move, the 19-year-old – who also had the advantage of playing as white – Gukesh continued to hold fort and resisted whatever curveballs Niemann attempted to throw at him.

In the end, the two played out a 62-move draw that concluded with a rook endgame. It was the only stalemate in the opening round, with each of the other boards witnessing a victory for white.

Gukesh’s second-round meeting with Tata Steel Chess winner Nodirbek Abdusattorov, however, was nowhere near as dramatic, with the two players shaking hands in just 30 moves from an Indian Game opening.

The Uzbekistani GM wasn’t quite able to put the world champion under pressure the way Niemann had in the previous round, with the eval bar remaining on level terms throughout.

Aravindh opens account with a victory

Niemann, meanwhile, was in for a setback in the second round after losing to Gukesh’s compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram despite playing as white. Aravindh, who had won the Prague Masters in dominant fashion last year, ceded control to his opponent after committing a couple of errors (20. h6 and 28. Ne4).

👉Here are the results of Round 2 of the Masters at the Prague Chess Festival, we saw two decisive games today. Don’t forget to vote for the game you liked the most: pic.twitter.com/0QoqcCtOI4

— Prague International Chess Festival (@PragueChess) February 26, 2026

The 26-year-old, however, was quick to turn the tide in his favour after Niemann produced a blunder with his bishop (31.  Bd3) that was followed by more errors, with the American eventually raising the white flag of surrender after 53 moves.

For reigning Classical world champion D Gukesh, the year 2026 did not begin on a great note. The 19-year-old, after all, had failed to impress at the Tata Steel Chess in Netherlands’ Wijk aan Zee, the same event that he had nearly won last year. Forget challenging for the title, the youngest world champion of all time couldn’t even secure a top-five finish, finishing ninth overall with a score of 6.5 –
the best among the four Indians in action.

The disappointment of that performance, as well as that of the FIDE Grand Swiss and the FIDE World Cup towards the end of 2025, appears to have done little to dampen Gukesh’s spirits ahead of the Prague International Chess festival. The Grandmaster from Chennai will be defending his world title later this year and will be hoping to regain his form in time ahead of the marquee showdown.

🔝 The World Champion has arrived.
For the first time in 95 years, a reigning World Chess Champion will play a classical game on the territory of the former Czechoslovakia. Witness history in the making from February 25. ♟️✨ @DGukesh 🤝 @bolekchess pic.twitter.com/bY5zxYtsG2

— Prague International Chess Festival (@PragueChess) February 23, 2026

And at a press conference ahead of the Prague Chess Festival, where he will be competing in a strong ‘Masters’ field alongside Tata Steel Chess champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov and German GM Vincent Keymer among others, Gukesh exhibited the kind of body language that hinted at that turnaround coming sooner rather than later.

“Since the last time I played in 2024, a lot has changed and it was the last tournament that I played before the Candidates. So that’s kind of a special memory. Even that time the goal was to win the event and it’s the same here. Obviously there are more expectations and more pressure since I became the world champion. But I’ve gotten used to it and I hopefully can show my training and skills,” Gukesh said ahead of the event, which gets underway on Wednesday.

‘General improvement is always the goal’

Gukesh added that while the focus remained on his World Championship title defence later this year, it is his general approach to give his 100 per cent in whatever tournament he plays.

“My general approach in every tournament is to give my 100 per cent in every game that I play. The main goal is the world championship at the end of this… mostly at the end of the year. But all the other tournaments are also very important in themselves and it also serves as an excellent training for the title match.

“And also just playing against super strong opponents in every tournament requires you to be constantly sharp and working on yourself. General improvement is always the goal, and when it comes to a tournament, obviously want to compete and fight for the first place,” he continued.

When asked if there was a particular player he was looking forward to facing in the world championship showdown later this year, Gukesh pointed his finger towards compatriot R Praggnanandhaa – who is the only Indian competing in the ‘Open’ section of this year’s Candidates Tournament in Cyprus.

“Personally, I would like to face Pragg. It would be an Indian clash, and it would be great for the Indian fans,” the teenager added.

“Personally, I would like to face Pragg. It would be an Indian clash, and it would be great for the Indian fans” – World Champion @DGukesh when asked about the Candidates Tournament and his favorites.

Video: @ram_abhyudaya/ ChessBase India pic.twitter.com/PxMydba4Hw

— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) February 24, 2026

Gukesh not in support of Kramnik’s controversial anti-cheating crusade

Gukesh also touched upon Russian icon Vladimir Kramnik’s controversial crusade against cheating in chess and the allegations he had leveled on a number of players, including the late American Blitz star Daniel Naroditsky.

The Indian chess star not only maintained that he wasn’t in favour of Kramnik hurling unproven allegations against Naroditsky and other players while adding that the issue of cheating has been made “bigger than it actually is”.

“Obviously, I’m against any kind of unfair or unethical play. I have never done that and I really hope nobody does that. It’s a kind of problem that we have been seeing lately. About Kramnik, what he has been doing I’m not supportive of that.

“Many people in the last couple of years have been paranoid about cheating. People are making it a bigger problem than it actually is. Specifically about Kramnik’s allegations, I don’t support most of it. I think there should be more harmony and peace in chess,” Gukesh added.