Gukesh’s fortunes continue to tumble, draws Nodirbek

CHENNAI: Chennai grandmaster Gukesh tumbled yet again, with a draw against the talented Uzbekistan grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov in Round 4 of the Chennai Grand Masters here on Sunday.

French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja continued to lead the standings with a half a point advantage over India’s Arjun Erigaisi after all matches in Round 4 ended in draws. Over 500 chess fans watched the Round 4 action live and also got an opportunity to interact with the legendary Viswanathan Anand, who also made the first move in the match between Erigaisi and M Pranesh.

Organised by MGD1, the tournament witnesses eight grandmasters face-off in a robin format and offers a prize purse of Rs 75,00,000 and valuable FIDE Circuit points. Firouzja had won his first two matches while Erigaisi had scored one full point in the third round to heat up the title race on Saturday. Erigaisi was the first to sign the peace treaty against compatriot M Pranesh with white pieces. The match stayed evenly balanced throughout and the players opted for a draw after 34 moves. Firouzja also played it safe with black against GM Hans Niemann and took the draw after 50 moves.

Points: Alireza Firouzja (3), Arjun Erigaisi (2.5), Nihal Sarin (2), Dmitry Andreykin (2), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2), Hans Niemann (1.5), M Pranesh (1.5), D Gukesh (1.5)

Round 5 fixtures (July 20): M Pranesh vs Hans Niemann; D Gukesh’s vs Arjun Erigaisi; Nihal Sarin vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov; Alireza Firouzja vs Dmitry Andreikin