India’s red-hot Grandmaster beats German superstar who shocked Carlsen

Exciting Indian Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram stunned the in-form Vincent Keymer in the second round of the Prague International Chess Festival.

While the focus was on R Praggnanandhaa, the second Indian in the 10-player Masters section, Chithambaram produced magic by beating the German superstar with his attacking style. He offered a brilliant rook sacrifice, turning an even game in his favour and never letting that advantage go.

Keymer came into the event after a brilliant performance in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour at Weissenhaus, where he knocked out World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen before beating World No. 1 Fabiano Caruana to clinch the title.

Every other game in the second round ended in draws, taking Chithambaram to joint-first with Sam Shankland on 1.5 points. In round three, Chithambaram will play Wei Yi of China.

The 25-year-old Chithambaram had a fabulous 2024, during which he was the best-performing GM among those in the top 100. He amassed 64 rating points last year, more than the top two Indian duo of D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi.

While Gukesh's success over China's Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship match in December was the highlight of Indian chess last year, Chithambaram had an equally spectacular campaign. He famously clinched a strong Chennai Masters that Erigaisi and Levon Aronian attended.