Bogdan-Daniel holds Praggnanandhaa to a draw
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Bucharest: In the sixth round of the Superbet Classic event, which is a part of the Grand Chess Tour, lowest-ranked Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania held Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa to a draw. Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja, an Iranian-French combination, excelled in his moves versus American Wesley So.
With the World Championship on his mind, India's D Gukesh seemed to keep in reserve his real weapons and signed for peace with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, PTI reported.
Praggnanandhaa tried his hand against the ever-solid Nimzo Indian defence. But it was an off day for the Indian who was confidently breached by the Romanian.
Bogdan-Daniel matched Praggnanandhaa move for move and the game was drawn through repetition after 38 moves.
It was not so easy for Gukesh as he seemed to withhold his true preparation for the World Championship match against Ding Liren, scheduled in November this year in Singapore.
Alireza stole the show on a dull day in the grand chess tour. He was at his best and crawled back with his second win of the tournament to be in striking distance of tournament leader Fabio Caruana of the United States.
With just three rounds remaining in the USD 350000 prize money tournament, Caruna seems to be sitting pretty at the top, with three aspirants in Gukesh Praggnanandhaa and Alireza in pursuit.
Results after round 6: R Praggnaanandhaa (IND, 3.5) drew with Deac Bogdan-Daniel (ROM, 2); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 3) drew with D Gukesh (IND, 3.5); Fabiano Caruana (USA, 4) drew with Ian Nepomnichtchi (FID, 3); Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 3.5) beat Wesley So (USA, 2).
