New Delhi: Indian Grandmaster R Praggnandhaa won the second round match against compatriot Pentala Harikrishna at the 87th Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. The 2023 World Cup runner-up played a classic game with a mixture of counter-attacking moves and defence with the black pieces.
It should have been drawn, but Praggnandhaa upped his ante to take his senior opponent to the edge of the game before eventually wrapping up.
In other results of the tournament from the Indian contingent, world champion D Gukesh and World No.4 Arjun Erigiasi finished their respective second round games as draw. Gukesh played a draw against Russian-turned-Slovenian Vladimir Fedoseev.
Meanwhile, Erigiasi was up against local player Anish Giri. Both players tried to push with the rook and knight endgame before settling for a draw, not very surprising from the experts’ opinion.
World No.2 Fabiano Caruana mustered a thumping win against Dutch player Jorden van Foreest. He capitalised on the unforced errors of the home player to capture a pawn, which turned to be a decisive moment.
Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh drew with Nguyen Thai van Dam of Czechia.
Results round 2:
Masters: Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 1) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 1.5); Erigaise Arjun (Ind, 0.5) drew with Anish Giri (Ned, 0.5); P Harikrishna (Ind, 1) lost to R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 1.5); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 1.5) beat Leon Luke Mendonca (Ind, 0); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 1.5) drew with Max Warmerdam (Ned, 1); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 1.5) beat Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 0.5); Alexey Sarana (Srb, 1) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 1).
Challengers: Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 0.5) drew with Nguyen Thai van Dam (Cze, 1.5); R Vaishali (Ind, 1.5) drew with Miaoyi Lu (Chn, 1.5); Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 1.5) drew with Nodirbek Kazybek (Kaz, 0.5); Benjamin Bok (Ned, 1.5) beat Ediz Gurel (Tur, 1); Arthur Pijpers (Ned, 0.5) drew with Aydin Sulemanli (Aze, 1); Svane Frederik (Ger, 1.5) beat Oro Faustino (Arg, 0); Irina Bulmaga (Rom, 0) lost to Erwin L’Ami (Ned, 1.5).
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnandhaa won the second round of Tata Steel Chess Tournament while D Gukesh and Arjun Erigiasi ended their matches in a drawn affair. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
