Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa emerged as the winner of the UzChess Cup 2025, edging out Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Abdusattorov in a thrilling tiebreaker. The Indian GM took home the $20,000 first prize and extended his lead in the FIDE Circuit 2025 standings.
The second edition of the UzChess Cup took place at the “Panaram’s” Hotel in Tashkent. The total prize fund amounted to $121,500, with $80,000 allocated to the “Masters” group, $25,000 to the “Challengers,” $11,500 to the “Futures,” and $5,000 to the “Open” group.
The Masters tournament was fiercely contested, with all players showing exceptional fighting spirit—none of them finished the event undefeated. Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov started strong, tying for the lead after Round 4 with 3/4. However, in the next round, the Indian GM lost to Parham Maghsoodloo, while the Uzbek star defeated Chithambaram Aravindh and pulled ahead. Praggnanandhaa then suffered another loss in the following round, seemingly falling out of title contention.
Despite a loss to his compatriot Nodirbek Yakubboev in Round 6, Abdusattorov entered the final ninth round as the sole leader on 5.5/8, half a point ahead of Sindarov and a full point ahead of Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi.
In the decisive final-round game—and arguably the game of the tournament—Praggnanandhaa rose to the occasion and outplayed the leader with the black pieces in a Sicilian Defense to catch up. Meanwhile, Sindarov drew with Maghsoodloo, and Erigaisi, despite holding a significant advantage at some point, only managed a draw against Aravindh. As a result, Praggnanandhaa, Abdusattorov, and Sindarov all finished with 5.5/9.
To determine the champion, a tiebreaker in the form of a double round-robin with fast time control was played. In a dramatic twist, all three players finished with 2/4—forcing another tie. A second tiebreaker, this time a single round-robin, followed. Praggnanandhaa scored 1.5 points to clinch the title. Sindarov, who defeated Abdusattorov but lost to the eventual winner, finished second.
Final standings — UzChess Cup Masters
In the other sections, GM Nikolas Theodorou (pictured above, right) of Greece won the Challengers event, GM Saparmyrat Atabayev of Turkmenistan came out on top in the Futures tournament, while local player Bekhruz Umarov triumphed in the Open competition.
Final standings: Challengers, Futures, Open
Photos: UzChess and ChessBase India