Tata Steel Masters chess: Vidit Gujrathi prevails over Daniil Dubov to become sole leader

India's Chess player Vidit Gujrathi defeated Russia's Daniil Dubov in the 3rd round of the Tata Steel Masters Chess tournament.

Indian Grandmaster Vidit Santhosh Gujrathi prevailed over Russia's Daniil Dubov in the third round to become the sole leader with 2.5 points in the prestigious Tata Steel Masters chess tournament. Gujrathi's compatriot, 16-year old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, however, suffered a defeat at the hands of Dutchman Jorden Van Foreest late on Monday night.

Apart from Van Foreest, Andrey Esipenko and Richard Rapport also scored victories and now sit on two points together with world No.1 Magnus Carlsen and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who drew their games. In the Gujrathi-Dubov match, the Russian, true to his creative style, introduced a novelty in the Italian Opening as early as on move 8.

The Indian GM took the seemingly risky approach, first trading his dark-squared bishop and then accepting a central pawn sacrifice. As a result, he fell behind in development, whereas Black's king got stuck in the centre.