Praaggnandhaa and Gukesh in joint lead at Tata Steel Masters

WORLD Champion D Gukesh played out a draw with Jorden van Foreest of Holland, while Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat Alexey Sarana of Serbia as the two Indians shared the lead after a thrilling day at the Tata Steel Masters at Wijk Aan Zee in The Netherlands.

Praggnanandhaa notched up his third consecutive win to take his tally to a commendable 8.5 points, like his compatriot Gukesh after the 12th and penultimate round.

The two Indians are now poised for an exciting finish in the prestigious tournament, with the remarkable prospect of one of them potentially clinching the title—a first in Tata Steel Masters history.

Eying the top spot after the 11th round, Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan was outdone by Arjun Erigaisi and is all but out of title contention on 7.5 points.

Praggnanandhaa was involved in another Queen’s gambit declined opening. Only this time he was playing with white pieces.

Gukesh played a game of fluctuating fortunes against Foreest, who can play the spoiler on any given day.

The finale could be exciting as Gukesh is up against a resurgent Arjun, while Praggnanandhaa has to tackle Keymer. In case of a drawn result on both boards, the play-off of a shorter duration game will decide the winner.