St. Louis (USA), Aug 20 (PTI) World champion D Gukesh put his opening-round blues behind him and scored an excellent victory over former world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the second round of the Sinquefield Cup here.
On a day when R Praggnanandhaa played a quiet game to draw with Fabiano Caruana of the United States, Alireza Firouzja of France gave a perfect endgame lesson as he crashed through the defense of Duda Jan-Krzysztof of Poland in the other decisive game of the day.
Levon Aronian of the United States played out a draw with compatriot Samuel Sevian to remain in joint lead while another American Wesley So drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the 10-player USD 3,75,000 prize-money tournament.
With seven rounds still to come, Praggnanandhaa, Aronian and Firouzja share the lead on 1.5 points.
Gukesh moved to joint fourth place alongside Caruana, Wesley So, Sevian and Vachier-Lagrave. Duda stands on ninth spot on half a point while Abdusattorov is yet to open his account after losing his second game on the trot.
Gukesh faced the open Sicilian, popularised by the legendry Viktor Korchnoi in the last century. There have been many takers of the variation at the top level, including Caruana, but these days the opening is not a favourite among elite players.
Gukesh played one of the testing variations and did not shy away from mainstream theory. Abdusattorov got a passed pawn in the middle of the board supported by another pawn but his king was always under the hammer as Gukesh’s imaginative manoeuvres proved.
The Indian ace won a rook for a knight endgame, and even though the counter-play remained for the Uzbek, it was hard to find the exact moves with the clock ticking. Gukesh wrapped the issue with some timely exchanges leading to a won endgame.
Praggnanandhaa decided to give Caruana a taste of his own medicine by going for the Rossolimo Variation that the American had used extensively in his World Championship match against Magnus Carlsen.
However, the American proved his understanding of the resulting pawn structure in the middle game and some exchanges steered the game to a draw in the rook-and-minor-piece endgame that ensued.
Firouzja had to showcase his skills in the endgame with a bishop and knight against the lone king and the Frenchman achieved it flawlessly.
Results round 2: R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 1.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 1); Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 1.5) beat Duda Jan Kryzstof (Pol, 0.5); Levon Aronian (USA, 1.5) drew with Samuel Sevian (USA, 1); Wesley So (USA, 1) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 1); D Gukesh (Ind) beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb). PTI Cor AM Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa outplayed World Champion D Gukesh in the opening round of the Sinquefield Cup Chess tournament to rise to the third position in live world rankings.
He now shares the lead with the unstoppable Levon Aronian of United States, who outsmarted Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan after the opening round on Monday.
In other games of the first round Fabiano Caruana of USA played out a draw with Duda Jan-Kryzstof of Poland while wild card Samuel Savian split the point with American country-mate Wesley So while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France also drew with another Frenchman Alireza Firouzja.
With eight rounds still to come in the USD 350,000 prize money tournament, as many as six players share the third spot behind Praggnanandhaa and Aronian while Gukesh and Abdusattorov are at the bottom of the heap hoping to open their respective accounts in the next round.
Praggananandhaa faced the Queen’s gambit accepted by Gukesh who played with black pieces.
The solid approach was under the scrutiny early as Gukesh spent a lot of time in a known position and went for a dubious set-up that involved early exchange of queens.
Praggnanandhaa had the Bishop pair as playing with white pieces gave him a distinct advantage.
Making things worse for himself, Gukesh also fell short of time and had to find some really difficult moves to stay in the game.
Relentless, as he is, Praggnanandhaa did not let the position slip out of hand as he won a pawn by force and the rest was easy. The game lasted just 36 moves.
“I don’t really know what happened today. I think he was a bit off,” said Praggnanandhaa after the game.
Incidentally with this victory, Praggnanandhaa also restored parity with Gukesh in classical format in which both have three wins each.
“Last year, I messed up some good positions against him, I think I did not beat him (in classical) for almost two years now, so finally it’s good to get a win,” noted Praggnanandhaa.
Aronian was quick to find counter play once Nodirbek ran out of steam after a long time trying to attack the black King. The Uzbek Grandmaster had the white pieces and a slightly favourable position but the American stayed put with some good resources. The game should have been a draw but Abdusattorov bungled and lost badly.
Results round 1: R Praggnanandhaa (Ind) beat D Gukesh (Ind); Fabiano Caruana (Usa) drew with Duda Jan Kryzstof (Pol); Samuel Savian (Usa) drew with Wesley So (Usa); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) lost to Levon Aronian (Usa); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra) drew with Alireza Firouzja (Fra). PTI CORR KHS KHS KHS 1908 1153 NNNN AM AM
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