# Chess in the Last 24 Hours: Firouzja Leads in Chennai, and a Champion Stumbles

> In the last 24 hours, Alireza Firouzja moved into the sole lead at the Chennai Grand Masters with one round left, while World Champion Gukesh lost again and now risks slipping out of the 2700 club. Online, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave edged Fabiano Caruana to win Titled Tuesday. Here is the simple story of a big day in chess.

_By PrimeChess Team, Chess for Everyone · Jul 22, 2026_

# Chess in the Last 24 Hours: Firouzja Leads in Chennai, and a Champion Stumbles

Some days in chess feel like a movie. The last 24 hours were one of those days.

In the city of Chennai, India, eight of the best players in the world are fighting for one trophy. They play one long game each day. It is slow, quiet, and very tense. And right now, one player has pulled ahead — but only just.

## Firouzja quietly takes the lead

The leader is **Alireza Firouzja**, a young star who plays for France. He did not win his game on Monday. He drew it. In fact, he has now drawn four games in a row.

So how is he in front? Because the other top players slipped. While Firouzja played safe, his rivals lost. Sometimes in chess, the calm player wins the race.

## A hard day for the World Champion

The biggest shock was **Gukesh Dommaraju**. He is the current World Champion. He is only 19 years old. And Chennai is his home city. Everyone hoped he would shine.

Instead, he lost again — his second loss in just two days. This time he lost to a young Indian player named **Pranesh M**, who was playing his first win of the whole event. Gukesh had a winning position, but he ran low on time and let it slip away.

It has been a tough stretch for the champion. His rating has now dropped a lot from his best. It shows a simple truth: even the very best have bad days.

## Where things stand

Here is the table after six of the seven rounds:

| Place | Player | Country | Points |
| ----- | ------ | ------- | ------ |
| 1 | Alireza Firouzja | France | 4.0 |
| 2 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Uzbekistan | 3.5 |
| 2 | Arjun Erigaisi | India | 3.5 |
| 4 | Nihal Sarin | India | 3.0 |
| 4 | Dmitry Andreikin | — | 3.0 |
| 4 | Pranesh M | India | 3.0 |
| 7 | Hans Niemann | USA | 2.5 |
| 8 | Gukesh Dommaraju | India | 1.5 |

Firouzja leads by half a point. Two players are right behind him.

## One game left to decide it all

The final round is today. And the pairing at the top could not be better: **Firouzja plays Arjun Erigaisi**, the home favourite.

The math is simple. If Firouzja wins, the trophy is his. A draw will very likely be enough too. But if Arjun wins, the door swings open, and Abdusattorov could still sneak in with a win of his own. One game. So much on the line.

## And online, a photo finish

Away from Chennai, there was drama on the internet too. In Chess.com's weekly online event, **Titled Tuesday**, two famous names tied for first with the same score: **Maxime Vachier-Lagrave** of France and **Fabiano Caruana** of the USA.

When players tie, a tiebreak decides the winner. This time it smiled on Vachier-Lagrave. It was his 13th win in this event. Caruana came so close, yet went home second.

## A day to remember

Chess can be gentle and brutal in the same hour. A champion can fall. A quiet player can lead. A young hopeful can beat a hero he grew up watching.

By tonight, we will know who lifts the Chennai trophy. Whatever happens, one thing is clear: this game never stops surprising us. And that is why we love it.