D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa’s winless streaks on the Tata Metal Chess event stretched into the fourth spherical after the duo performed out a draw within the 12 months’s first classical occasion in Wijk aan Zee on Tuesday.
Gukesh and Pragg have been concerned in a 40-move draw after threefold repetition with Gukesh’s queen and Praggnanandhaa’s king shuffling round as a formality ultimately.
Beforehand, Gukesh had stalemates towards Javokhir Sindarov, Jorden van Foreest and Arjun Erigaisi. In the meantime, after his first two video games led to defeats, this was the second consecutive draw for Pragg.
The decisive second of the sport got here on transfer 26, when Gukesh, responding to Pragg taking part in 25…c5, performed 26.c4 —opting to push his c pawn forward by a sq. reasonably than taking part in 26.h5 which might have compelled Pragg’s knight to retreat. The h pawn would have additionally acted as a everlasting thorn within the aspect of the cavalry standing in entrance of Pragg’s king. After the draw was agreed, the 2 Indians appeared to be analysing that transfer.
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“You make that transfer and realise that one thing’s gone unsuitable,” famous Worldwide Grasp Soumya Swaminathan on the dwell commentary on ChessBase India. She additionally identified how a few of Gukesh’s strikes within the recreation seemed “cautious”.
“Possibly as a result of he is aware of that Pragg is at all times very properly ready,” she reasoned.
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The third prime Indian grandmaster within the fray, Arjun Erigaisi, has had a a lot better efficiency at Wijk aan Zee thus far, beating Pragg within the opening spherical earlier than two attracts. On the time of going to press, Erigaisi was locked in fight with native hero Anish Giri, who can also be battling kind at Wijk aan Zee.
The Tata Metal Chess event is the beginning of the classical chess season in a 12 months when each Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa should be at their finest. Praggnanandhaa will quickly be getting ready with full gusto for the Candidates event in Cyprus in March-April, which is able to determine the challenger for Gukesh on the world championship in November-December. The duo can also be anticipated to affix forces for the Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand in September.
The Wijk aan Zee event is notoriously powerful to reverse a hunch, because of the occasion being lengthy (13 rounds) and the frigid climate within the Dutch city hampering gamers’ routines like lengthy walks to reset after a foul recreation. Final 12 months, Erigaisi received his first recreation solely in spherical 12.
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