Prague — World chess champion D. Gukesh navigated a tense and sharp encounter before settling for a draw against the United States’ Hans Moke Niemann in the opening round of the masters section at the Prague International Chess Festival.
Playing as White, Niemann adopted the Berlin Defense but quickly shifted gears with an audacious approach. On move 13, he sacrificed a piece, putting immediate pressure on Gukesh despite the Indian grandmaster holding the white pieces. The bold sacrifice forced Gukesh into a defensive posture early in the middlegame, creating anxious moments for the world champion.
Niemann’s aggressive play appeared to give him an edge, as he gained extra pawns in compensation for the sacrificed knight and seemed poised to push for a win. However, Gukesh demonstrated resilience and precise defense, preventing Black from converting the advantage. The game ultimately ended in a draw after both sides navigated the complications accurately.
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This was the sole draw in the 10-player, nine-round masters tournament, where all other games produced decisive results, with White prevailing in each of the remaining four matches.
In one of the key upsets, defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram of India fell to Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan. Aravindh employed the Philidor Defense, which held promise initially, but he succumbed to a clever maneuver that left him in a difficult rook-and-minor-piece endgame after losing a pawn.
Top seed Vincent Keymer of Germany suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of a resurgent Jorden van Foreest of the Netherlands. Another Berlin Defense unfolded, but van Foreest introduced a novel idea that disrupted Keymer’s plans, securing a material advantage and converting it into a convincing victory.
Elsewhere, Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev defeated Spain’s David Anton Guijarro, while local favorite David Navara of the Czech Republic outplayed Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo.
In the challengers section, India’s Divya Deshmukh, the women’s World Cup winner, drew from a promising position against top-seeded Benjamin Gledura of Hungary. Fellow Indian Surya Shekhar Ganguly lost to Thomas Beerdsen of the Netherlands.
Results after round 1 (Masters): D Gukesh (IND) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (USA); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) beat Aravindh Chithambaram (IND); Jorden van Foreest (NED) beat Vincent Keymer (GER); David Navara (CZE) beat Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI); Nodirbek Yakubboev beat David Anton Guijarro (ESP).
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