Heading into the 87th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025, the reigning world chess champion D Gukesh was ranked World No. 5 and India No. 2, trailing only Arjun Erigaisi.However, the campaign in Wijk aan Zee began on a sour note for Arjun.

Dommaraju Gukesh earned his second win of the 2025 Tata Steel Chess Masters in Round 5, closing the gap on joint leaders R Praggnanandhaa and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

World champion D Gukesh secures second victory, climbs to fourth in world rankings, overtaking compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.

Gukesh, playing with white pieces, controlled the game from the start against Keymer, opting for the Nimzo-Indian Defense.

Gukesh has dethroned Arjun Erigaisi after the latter had a mighty slump with a series of poor performances in the Tata Steel Masters.

Arjun Erigaisi's losing run was stemmed with a draw against compatriot Leon Luke Mendonca, while Pentala Harikrishna also opted for an early draw against Chinese GM Wei Yi. The big surprise of Round 5 was Vladimir Fedoseev's shock win over Fabiano Caruana, which drew him level with Gukesh on 3.5 points.

D Gukesh secured a crucial victory against Vincent Keymer in a 72-move match at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025, marking his second win. R Praggn

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,

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