Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by Romania’s Deac Bogdan-Daniel in the sixth round of the Super Chess Classic, part of the Grand Chess Tour, while France’s Alireza Firouzja withdrew from the tournament due to injury concerns.
Firouzja, who had played two games despite an ankle injury, decided he could not continue and withdrew on the rest day of the 10-player, nine-round tournament.
Germany’s Vincent Keymer benefited from Firouzja’s withdrawal as he extended his lead to a full point after receiving a walkover in the round.
While all the other games ended in draws, Keymer remained the sole leader on 4.5 points, a full point clear of Netherlands’ Jorden Van Foreest, Anish Giri, top seed American Fabiano Caruana, and Praggnanandhaa, who are all on 3.5 points each.
France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So share sixth place with three points each, while World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan is close behind on 2.5 points.
Romania’s Deac Bogdan-Daniel is in ninth place with two points, while Firouzja ended his campaign on one point from five games.
Deac Bogdan-Daniel, though the lowest ranked in the field, has repeatedly underlined why he was chosen as the local wildcard entry.
Praggnanandhaa opted for complications from the opening with the Stonewall Dutch, but Deac remained solid and matched the Indian move for move.
Pieces were exchanged regularly, and although Praggnanandhaa picked up a temporary pawn advantage, the draw became inevitable. The game ended after 68 moves.
Sindarov, who had been in top form just over a month ago when he won the Candidates to earn the right to challenge Gukesh for the next World Championship match, is still searching for his first win after six rounds, having played his fifth draw against Caruana.
It was an Italian opening in which Caruana briefly held a slight advantage, but the American avoided complications, and the position levelled out in the middlegame before the players agreed to a repetition.
In another game, Van Foreest drew with compatriot Giri.
Three rounds remain in the event, which has a total prize pool of USD 375,000, with USD 100,000 reserved for the winner.
(With inputs from PTI)
