Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated world champion D Gukesh in a match between countrymen to win the Tata Steel Masters title for the first time in his illustrious career, demonstrating that the Indian chess powerhouse in international competition was still invincible despite his anxieties and weariness.

In the tiebreaker of the event’s 87th edition held here late on Sunday, the bespectacled 19-year-old from Chennai, which has become the birthplace of Indian chess, overcame a deficit to defeat the 18-year-old world number three 2-1.

This came after both players lost their games in the 13th round and ended up tied on 8.5 points. Arjun Erigaisi, a fellow Indian, defeated Gukesh, while Vincent Keymer of Germany defeated Praggnanandhaa.

There was a lot of drama in the tie-breaker, which is normal for two young players who want to win every single game they played in the tournament. It was such a hectic day that I am still trembling. I’m at a loss for words. I didn’t think I would win. After his victory, Praggnanandhaa informed the official competition website, “Somehow, things went my way.”

questioned about whether it was the most stressful day of his chess career, which started when he was only two years old. “I won the competition, which makes today even more amazing. “It was definitely the most stressful day,” he said.

After Viswanathan Anand, the adolescent was the first Indian to win the championship. When it was known as the Corus Chess Tournament, which was named for the title sponsor at the time, Anand won it three times (in 2003, 2004 and 2006) on his own. Additionally, the legend shared the title twice in the Hoogovens Tournament’s early iterations (1989 and 1998).

In the first game of the tiebreak, Praggnanandhaa played Benoni in reverse colors, and it seemed that he had comfortably equalized in the middle game. But Praggnanandhaa made a mistake that lost him a complete rook, and Gukesh had different ideas as he continued to attempt and prevailed.

Praggnanandhaa used the Trompowsky opening in the second game of the tiebreaker, which Gukesh had to win, and this time he had a little edge with his black pieces. “I just wanted to unwind and take a little break.” The game was very challenging. I didn’t do nearly as well against Vincent as I did here. I ought to get Arjun something. The former world youth champion said, “I thought Gukesh was better at one point.”

“This victory is undoubtedly the high point. I came here hoping to win, but the field was very good. It wasn’t until yesterday that I gave it considerable thought,” he said.

“I’m really worn out. I was exhausted, too. Right now, I simply want to sleep. By just maintaining his position during the tie-break, Praggnanandhaa calmly waited and took advantage of Gukesh’s unforced blunder to first knock down a pawn. His technical prowess was subsequently sufficient to win the regular blitz games 1-1.

As a result, the match went to sudden death, with Gukesh winning a pawn after some creative play on the queen’s side after Praggnanandhaa drew white. Praggnanandhaa attempted to defend a weaker ending despite the sudden death’s time limit of two minutes and thirty seconds for white and three for black.

Gukesh lost control in the fight of nerves and lost a piece and then his lone knight just as the situation seemed to be entirely drawn and another game was imminent. With flawless technique, Praggnanandhaa won his first Masters title and the whole point.

Gukesh lost the tiebreaker after tying for top place for the second consecutive year. Chinese Wei Yi had defeated Gukesh in the previous edition.