Tata Steel Chess: Abdusattorov, Praggnanandhaa share lead; Gukesh stays close

With just one decisive game in the 14-player round-robin tournament at De Morian on Saturday, Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa maintained their shared lead with 4.5 points out of a possible six, while Gukesh remains close behind, trailing the leaders with four points.

Wijk Aan Zee: World champion D Gukesh played out a draw with overnight joint leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, while R Praggnanandhaa signed peace with defending champion Wei Yi of China in the sixth round of the Tata Steel chess tournament here.

With only decisive game in the 14-players round-robin tournament at the De Morian on Saturday, Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa continued to share the lead on 4.5 points out of a possible six and Gukesh is right on the toes of the leaders with four points.

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Seven rounds are still left in the first major tournament of the year.

P Harikrishna, Alexey Sarana of Serbia and Vladimir Fedoseev of Slovenia share the fourth spot on 3.5 points each and are within the striking distance of the leaders.

Gukesh held his ground in a challenging endgame against Abdusattorov, escaping with a draw after 64 moves.

The game began with the Italian Opening, leading to an equal middlegame.

However, as complications arose, Abdusattorov seized a persistent advantage and handled the position skillfully.

In the endgame, Gukesh was forced to concede a pawn, and the situation worsened when Abdusattorov sacrificed his knight for three pawns, putting the Indian under significant pressure.

Despite being in a difficult position, Gukesh once again showcased his defensive resilience, capitalising on an inaccuracy by his opponent to salvage a hard-fought draw.

Praggnanandhaa tried to make a foray with white pieces against Wei Yi out of a Ruy Lopez opening.

The Chinese always had the desired counterplay and the game was drawn after 58 moves.

P Harikrishna raised vision with his two extra pawns against Jorden van Foreest of Holland but the latter used his bishop pair well to draw level.

Arjun Erigaisi who has been under pressure right from the first round, decided to play it very safe with white and drew quickly with top rated Fabiano Caruana of the United States in a Berlin defence game.

Arjun just followed the routine theory and exchanged pieces to reach a dead-drawn minor piece endgame.

Leon Luke Mendonca also drew with Max Warmerdam of Holland out of a Queen’s pawn opening game to reach 1.5 points like Arjun.

In the challengers section, R Vaishali could not get much against tailender Irina Bulmaga of Romania and the draw was agreed to vide repetition in a rook and pawns endgame while 11-year-old Faustino Oro of Argentina defeated Divya Deshmukh.

Results (Round 6)

Masters: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 4); Leon Luke Mendonca (Ind, 1.5) drew with Max Warmerdam (Ned, 2.5); Arjun Erigaisi (Ind, 1.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 3); R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 4.5) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 3); P Harikrishna (Ind, 3.5) drew with Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 2); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 3) drew with Anish Giri (Ned, 2.5); Alexey Sarana (Srb, 3.5) beat Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 3.5).

Challengers: Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 3) drew with Frederik Svane (Ger, 2.5); Irina Bulmaga (Rom, 1) drew with R Vaishali (Ind, 3.5); Benjamin Bok (Ned, 4) drew with Nogerbek Kazybek (Kaz, 3.5); Arthur Pijpers(Ned, 2) drew with Miaoyi Lu (Chn, 3.5); Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 1.5) lost to Faustino Oro (Arg, 2.5); Nguyen Thai Dai Van (Cze, 4) drew with Erwin L’Ami (Ned, 4.5); Aydin Suleymanli (Aze, 2.5) vs Ediz Gurel (Tur, 2.5).