R Praggnanandhaa outclassed world champion D Gukesh in sudden death to win Tata Steel Masters chess title, in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands, on Sunday.
There was huge drama typical of two young players looking to win each and every tiebreak game after they ended the 13th and final round of the tournament tied for the top spot with 8.5 points each.
After the two teenage players left the chess aficionados spellbound over the last several days with their brand of aggressive and innovative play to lead the group, both suffered shocking losses in the final round.
While Gukesh lost to compatriot Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa too suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Germany's Vincent Keymer, but despite the losses they still managed 5.5 points each to remain joint leaders.
Praggnanandhaa then faced the Benoni with reversed colours in the first game of the tiebreak and it seemed like he had equalised easily in the middle game. However, Gukesh had other thoughts as he kept trying and won, thanks to a blunder by Praggnanandhaa that cost him a full rook.
In a must-win second game of the tiebreaker, Praggnanandhaa employed the Trompowsky opening, and this time Gukesh could claim a slight advantage with his black pieces.
However, by just keeping his position together, Praggnanandhaa patiently waited and capitalised on an unforced error from his opponent to first knock down a pawn and then his technical abilities were enough to see the normal blitz games through with a 1-1 score.
This took the match into sudden-death, where Praggnanandhaa drew white and once again Gukesh was better with some imaginative play on the queen side that netted him a pawn.
The sudden-death had a time control of two minutes and thirty seconds for white against three for black but that did not deter Praggnanandhaa from trying to defend an inferior endgame.
Just while the position looked completely drawn and another game was on the cards, Gukesh lost complete control in the battle of nerves and first lost a pawn then his last remaining knight.
Praggnanandhaa showed perfect technique to take the full point and his maiden victory at the Masters.
For Gukesh, this was the second year running when he tied for first position and lost the tiebreaker. In the previous edition last year, Gukesh had lost to Chinese Wei Yi.
Earlier, World champion D Gukesh and Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa lost on a dramatic final day but still set up a tie-breaker at the end of the 13th and final round.
Gukesh suffered his first defeat as the World champion, bowing to some energetic play by compatriot Arjun Erigaisi while Praggnanandhaa went down against Vincent Keymer, whose technique was impeccable on the final day.
Interestingly enough, the chess buffs were reminded of the 2013 Candidates tournament where Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia were leading together but both lost.
Carlsen won on tie-break and went on to beat Viswanathan Anand to be crowned the world champion for the first time.
Despite the loss, Praggnanandhaa will play tie-break games of shorter duration against Gukesh after the two ended with identical 8.5 points each. The other contender Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan was denied the full point by P Harikrishna, who played a hard fought draw.
In the tiebreaker, the players will play two games of three minutes each with a two seconds increment after every move. If the result is still tied then sudden-death games will be played until a winner is found.
Gukesh's ambition to play out of the rule book did not pay dividends as Erigaisi, playing black, was up to the task in a Petroff defense game. Both players castled on opposite flanks and the dynamics turned in Erigaisi's favour as he opened up the king side before his king came under serious scrutiny.
Gukesh tried some tricks but it was simply not his day. To Erigaisi's credit, he turned a forgettable performance into something really worthwhile by winning the last two rounds. In the 12th and penultimate round, Erigaisi had beaten Abdusattorov.
Praggnanandhaa went for the Caro-Kann defense as black and equalised in the ensuing middle game. However, Keymer found his chances once Praggnanandhaa had his Bishop tied down to the defense of his own pawns.
With Bishops of opposite colour on board in a queen and minor piece endgame, Praggnanandhaa had to defend very accurately but it's never easy with the clock ticking away.
It was on the 43rd move that Praggnanandhaa blundered but Keymer could not find the finishing blow. However, the pressure kept on becoming intense and finally Praggnanandhaa made the decisive error, leading to a trade of the knights.
Keymer blundered again in the game of fluctuating fortunes and it was a near heartbreak for Praggnanandhaa as he failed to find the path to a draw. Another blundered by Praggnanandhaa on the 76th move gave Keymer a full point four moves later.
In the Challengers' section, R Vaishali ended the hopes of Erwin L'Ami of Holland with a fine victory with white pieces, while Divya Deshmukh played out a draw with Dutchman Arthur Pijpers.
Nguyen Thai Dai Van of the Czech Republic and Ayden Suleymanli of Azerbaijan tied for the top spot on 9.5 points each.
Vaishali finished her event on six points, while Divya ended on 3.5 points.
Results (Final round)
Masters: D Gukesh (Ind, 8.5.) lost to Arjun Erigaisi (Ind, 5.5); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 6) beat R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 8.5); Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 7.5) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 7); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 6) lost to Max Warmerdam (Ned, 4.5); Anish Giri (Ned, 7) drew with Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 5.5); Alexey Sarana (Srb, 6) drew with Leon Luke Mendonca (Ind, 5); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 8) drew with P Harikrishna (Ind, 6).
Challengers: Miaoyi Lu (Chn, 5.5) lost to Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 8); Nogerbek Kazybek (Kaz, 7.5) beat Oro Faustino (Arg, 3.5); R Vaishali (Ind, 6) beat Erwin L'Ami (Ned, 8.5); Svane Frederik (Ger, 7.5) drew with Ediz Gurel (Tur, 7.5); Irina Bulmaga (Rom, 1) lost to Aydin Suleymanli (Aze, 9.5); Benjamin Bok (Ned, 8) lost to Nguyen Thai Dai Vam (Cze, 9.5); Arthur Pijpers (Ned, 5.5) drew with Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 3.5).
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