India’s struggles at Wijk aan Zee: 3 wins in 36 games between Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Aravindh Chitambaram

Pragg, Arjun and Aravindh have had woeful campaigns at Wijk.

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In 12 rounds, Arjun has won just once, when he defeated good friend and compatriot Pragg in the first round. Since that initial victory, he’s lost 30 rating points over the span of 11 games in Wijk aan Zee, thanks to four defeats and seven draws. Overall, after accounting for the five points he earned for his win over Pragg in round 1, Arjun’s rating at the event has eroded by 25 points in a stormy Wijk campaign.

Praggnanandhaa has also had one win in 12 rounds, with the solo moment of triumph coming against Aravindh, who is also a product of the RB Ramesh’s chess academy. The other 11 games for Pragg have ended in three defeats and eight draws, six of which came in a row.

Irrespective of how Gukesh’s game against Niemann ends, he will be the top ranked Indian player in the Tata Steel masters standings heading into the final round on Sunday. With one final round left, Praggnanandhaa (5 points), Arjun (4.5 points) and Aravindh (4.5 points) are among the bottom four players in the standings.

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The way Arjun and Pragg have lost rating points at the Wijk aan Zee event, there is a very slight possibility that the semi-retired Viswanathan Anand might find himself as the top rated Indian player in the live ratings (which are updated in real time) on Sunday when the event ends. Arjun is currently India’s top rated player with 2750 in the live ratings while Gukesh is at 2748. Arjun is world no 10 in the live ratings while Gukesh is 11. Anand, with a rating of 2743, is wedged between Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa (live rating of 2742) on 12th spot.

Gukesh, meanwhile, despite losing three games, has dropped just six rating points over 11 rounds.