D Gukesh Stunned by Jorden van Forest; Aravindh Chithambaram Holds Parham Maghsoodloo to a Draw

By Samira Vishwas On Feb 28, 2026

India had a disappointing day at the Prague Masters 2026 as their biggest star, D Gukesh, suffered a shocking loss in Round 3. Meanwhile, Aravindh Chithambaram played out a draw with Parham Maghsoodloo at the Prague International Chess Festival.

Playing with the black pieces, reigning world champion D Gukesh was defeated by Jorden van Foreest of the Netherlands. The game saw Gukesh make an early opening blunder as the Dutch Grandmaster employed the Ruy Lopez and seized the initiative with the bishop pair.

The Indian opted for an offbeat move (17.Qb8) in an attempt to catch Van Foreest off guard, but it proved to be a huge mistake. His opponent took full advantage and, after sacrificing a rook, broke open Gukesh’s defence, something the Indian did not see coming.

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Adding to his troubles, Gukesh also suffered a technical lapse as he failed to press the clock firmly enough. He thought it was Van Foreest’s turn and ended up losing a precious minute on his own time.

After that, Gukesh found himself a pawn down. Queens were traded, but Van Foreest’s advancing kingside pawns eventually decided the game, sealing the victory in 48 moves.

Gukesh is still winless in the tournament and must win in the upcoming rounds to stay alive in title contention. He is currently placed seventh with six rounds remaining.

With this win, Van Foreest moved to the top of the standings with two points, sharing the lead with Uzbek duo Nodirbek Yakubboev and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, along with local favourite David Navara.

Take a look at the standings after day 3! ♟️👇
Check out the table after the third day of play! 🔻 pic.twitter.com/mNYKPDeOGv
— Prague International Chess Festival (@PragueChess) February 27, 2026

On the other hand, 26-year-old Aravindh Chithambaram played a smart game to hold top seed Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran to a draw, taking his tally to 1.5 points in the tournament.

Playing with the white pieces, Aravindh chose an unusual line against Maghsoodloo’s Caro-Kann Defence. By the fifth move, queens were traded. After 30 moves, the game ended in a draw by threefold repetition.

Aravindh had entered the round on the back of a comeback victory over Hans Niemann with the black pieces in Round 2. He is now placed joint-fifth.

Among other Indians in action, Women’s FIDE Cup winner Divya Deshmukh went down to China’s Jiner Zhu in Challengers section. Surya Shekhar Ganguly also suffered defeat against Jachym Nemec of the Czech Republic.

Prague Masters 2026 Round 3 Results

Masters:
Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 2) beat D Gukesh (Ind, 1); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 2) drew with Vincent Keymer (Ger, 1); Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 2) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (USA, 1); Aravindh Chithambaram (Ind, 1.5) drew with Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI, 1); David Navara (Cze, 2) drew with David Anton Guijarro (Esp, 1.5).

Challengers:
Daniel Yuffa (Esp, 1.5) beat Benjamin Gledura (Hun, 0.5); Thomas Beerdsen (Ned, 2) lost to Jonas Buhl Bjerre (Den, 2); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (Ind, 0.5) lost to Jachym Nemec (Cze, 2); Finek Vanclav (Cze, 2.5) beat Stepan Hrbek (Cze, 2); Jiner Zhu (Chn, 1) beat Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 1).