Bharat’s 17-year-old phenom D Gukesh is headed towards the World Chess Championship clash against Ding Liren after his game with Hikaru Nakamura ended in a draw.
Gukesh managed to hold Nakamura to a draw, but his fate was sealed on the other board where Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana battled for 109 moves before agreeing to a draw. It appeared that Gukesh would be the winner today after a blunder from Fabiano Caruana in his 41st move opened up the chances of a draw against Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Nepo returned the favour and handed Caruana the upper hand. The Nepo vs Caruana game is headed for a draw. In the other games of the day, Praggnanandhaa defeated Nijat Abasov while Vidit Gujrathi agreed to a draw against Alireza after five minutes at the board.
In the women’s section, Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated Kateryna Lagno for her fifth win in a row after four successive losses.
Humpy Koneru defeated Lei Tingjie. In the women’s Candidates event, Tan Zhongyi was the winner, meaning she will take on compatriot Ju Wenjun in the Women’s World Championship.
Gukesh needed the Nepo-Caruana game to end in a draw. If either player wins, they will face Gukesh in the tiebreaker tomorrow.
Gukesh needed to win this game or if he was held to a draw by Nakamura, he needed to see the game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana end in a draw to become the youngest player to compete at the World Chess Championship.
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