New Delhi: World champion D Gukesh returned to winning ways at the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament with a well crafted victory over Thai Dai Van Nguyen of the Czech Republic, while overnight joint leader Arjun Erigaisi suffered a setback after losing to Vladimir Fedoseev of Slovenia in the fifth round.
Gukesh’s timely win, coming just before the first rest day, lifted him to three points from five rounds and placed him in joint fourth position on the leaderboard. The Indian grandmaster had opened the event with a string of draws, but his breakthrough result underlined his steady form and patience at the board. Three players now share the lead on 3.5 points, with Gukesh close behind alongside Fedoseev and Dutchman Jorden van Foreest.
Playing with the black pieces, Gukesh employed the Queen’s Indian Defence in a highly technical encounter. He sacrificed a rook for a minor piece to sustain long term pressure, gradually tightening his grip as the game progressed. Nguyen struggled to cope with the sustained initiative, and the contest concluded after 51 moves. Reflecting on his start, Gukesh noted that despite the lack of early wins, he felt confident in the quality of his play and believed results would follow.
In contrast, Arjun Erigaisi endured a difficult day. Facing an ambitious and risky approach from Fedoseev, Arjun drifted into a passive middlegame position. His pieces became cramped in the centre, and a vulnerable king position compounded the problem. Unable to recover momentum, he went down and slipped to joint seventh place on 2.5 points.
Elsewhere, R Praggnanandhaa registered his third draw of the tournament against Anish Giri, while Aravindh Chithambaram continued to struggle after losing to Vincent Keymer of Germany. Among the leaders, Hans Niemann and Nodirbek Abdusattorov played out a draw, while Javokhir Sindarov maintained his strong form with a win over Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus.
With nine rounds still remaining in the 13 round event, the standings remain tightly packed. Gukesh’s victory has reignited his campaign, while the coming rounds are expected to test consistency and resilience as the race for the title intensifies.
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