Sinquefield Cup: Gukesh survives against Praggnanandhaa

Gukesh survives a lost endgame against Praggnanandhaa in the Sinquefield Cup, while Caruana secures his first victory.

World Championship challenger D Gukesh survived by the skin of his teeth against compatriot R Praggnanandhaa, drawing a lost endgame in the third round of the Sinquefield Cup – the final leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

On a day when things finally livened up, tour leader Alireza Firouzja of France got lucky against his French teammate Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, drawing in a clear worse position via repetition of moves.

Also Read: Sinquefield Cup: Gukesh draws with Nepomniachtchi

Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan also pushed for quite some time. But, a blunder cost him dearly as Fabiano Caruana was able to turn the tables and score his first victory of the tournament.

The other winner was Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, who had a relatively easy win against Dutchman Anish Giri, who could not keep track after an unconventional opening by the former.

Reigning world champion Ding Liren of China also created enough chances for himself against Wesley So, only to blow them away in no time.

With six more rounds to come in the 10-player double round-robin tournament, Firouzja and Nepomniachtchi now share the lead on two points out of a possible three.