Grandmasters Trade The Chessboard For A Movie Night
World chess champion D Gukesh and fellow Indian grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa took a well-deserved break from intense tournament preparation to catch Superstar Rajinikanth's action sequel *Jailer 2* in cinemas. Sharing a carousel of photographs on Instagram, Gukesh gave fans a lighthearted look at their group movie outing and their shared love for Tamil cinema's biggest icon. In the opening selfie, the two Chennai chess prodigies posed alongside young musical prodigy Lydian Nadhaswaram inside the theater. Gukesh captioned the post "Thalaivar Gang," using the affectionate title millions of fans use to celebrate Rajinikanth. A second snapshot showed the 75-year-old actor commanding the giant cinema screen, which Gukesh captioned "75 but goosebumps 100."
Sharing A Single Seat In A Packed Theatre
However, the third photograph in the Instagram post quickly became the biggest talking point among sports and cinema fans online. Because *Jailer 2* has been packing auditoriums since its October 15 release, the group of four friends could not book four adjacent seats together. Rather than sitting apart in different rows, the two world-class chess grandmasters decided to squeeze into a single cinema seat for the entire duration of the blockbuster film. Posting a grinning selfie of the pair squished together in one chair, Gukesh joked: "Didn't get 4 seats together… so share a seat for the whole movie. Couple goals?"
Celebrating Friendship And Superstar Rajinikanth
Gukesh rounded out the social media post with a solo photo of himself channeling Rajinikanth's famous screen swagger in a pair of dark sunglasses. Fans flooded the comments section to praise the warm off-the-board camaraderie between two of India's brightest sporting stars. Despite competing fiercely against one another at elite international super-tournaments, Gukesh—who became the youngest undisputed world chess champion in 2024—and Praggnanandhaa have maintained a close friendship since their junior chess days. Their fun cinema outing added even more buzz to *Jailer 2*, which recently crossed Rs 4.2 billion worldwide. Catch the best off-field moments involving your favorite sports stars and cinema icons. Read more sports and entertainment stories at The WAU.
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