World Champion D Gukesh needed six hours to draw, while R Praggnanandhaa took the sole lead overall with 3.5/4

R Praggnanandhaa won against Arjun Erigaisi in the third round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025. The game concluded with Praggnanandhaa leading the table with a score of 2.5/3. Other notable matches include a draw between D Gukesh and Fabiano Caruana and Leon Luke Mendonca earning his first point.

Praggnanandhaa started off with an innocuous Ruy Lopez closed but found his chances in the middle game when Mendonca, could not handle the pressure of another high-profile game.

While Gukesh collected his third draw on the trot, R Praggnanandhaa continued to shine against his compatriots at the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands as he moved into the sole lead by completing a hat-trick of victories on Tuesday.

India's Arjun Erigaisi faced his third defeat in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025, while Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu leads the Masters with 3.5 poin

The village of Wijk aan Zee has been the host of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament since 1968. The tournament website sayd that the seaside location offers the widest sandbeach of the Netherlands and is located next to the beautiful dune reserve of Noord-Holland.

Interestingly, all of R Praggnanandhaa's victories have come at the expense of the Indians so far in the tournament.

D Gukesh, playing with black pieces, drew his second-round match in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 against Vladimir Fedoseev. The day saw several players settling for draws, including Arjun Erigaisi and defending champion Yi Wei.

In the third round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, D Gukesh played a cautious game resulting in a draw with Fabiano Caruana. Both players now have two points, maintaining their positions in this competitive chess event.

It’s something of a rite of passage in chess — the new champ is a marked man when he first returns to the board. Indian teenager Dommaraju Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion ever when he dethroned Chinese GM Deng Liren in their December title match,

R Praggnanandhaa in joint lead with Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov after the third round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament