Grandmaster and World Cup silver medallist R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by compatriot Aryan Chopra while D Gukesh signed peace out of a theoretical opening against Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in the first round of the FIDE Grand Swiss that got underway here.
On a day when Raunak Sadhwani held fourth seed Anish Giri to a solid draw, Arjun Erigaisi, Aravindh Chithambaram and S L Narayanan turned out winners against Frederik Svane of Germany, Wu Li of Isle of Man and Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux of Canada respectively.
In a shocking turn of events, Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi succumbed to Erwin L’ami of Holland. After nearly outplaying his Dutch counterpart, Gujrathi lost control towards the end, and some serious mistakes in the endgame cost him a rook for a knight. L’ami scored the upset after 65 moves.
Aryan Chopra is another young Grandmaster who hails from Delhi and is trying to make a mark in international circuit. Playing the black side of a Slav defence against someone who is, by consent, one of the best talents in the world, Chopra fought valiantly and held on to his own in a finely-paced game.
Praggnanandhaa traded queens early in the opening and dented the black’s pawn structure a bit and even stood slightly better for quite some time. However, the position was always closer to a draw and a flurry of exchanges led to an equal opposite-coloured Bishops endgame. The game was drawn after just 33 moves.
Gukesh never got a chance against Mamedov who is known as a theoretician. Playing the black side of a Sicilian Scheveningen, the Indian Grandmaster went for the Scheveningen setup and Mamedov went for an old variation that is solid in nature. In the chess tournament, player Gukesh found it challenging to win with black against a strong opponent, leading to a draw after 23 moves. Meanwhile, top seed Fabiano Caruana secured a victory with black pieces against Ivan Saric, displaying expertise in a less common opening system. Arjun Erigaisi impressed by defeating Frederik Svane with a well-executed exchange sacrifice in a Queen’s Gambit declined game, triumphing in 37 moves.
In the simultaneous women’s chess event, several Indian players showcased their skills in Round 1. Tania Sachdev played to a draw against D Harika in a closely contested game. Merurt Kamalidenova from Kazakhstan emerged victorious against Vantika Agarwal, while Savitha Shree displayed strong resistance, ultimately defeating Marsel Efroimski of Israel. Marsel Efroimski made a blunder leading to a checkmate, turning the tables in a tricky yet balanced endgame.
