Warsaw : D Gukesh made quite an impact, signalling that his preparations for the World Championship are on track by first defeating his title challenger, Javokhir Sindarov, in the fifth round and then holding American GM Wesley So to a draw in the Super Rapid and Blitz event on the Grand Chess Tour.
After defeating Uzbek’s Sindarov, Gukesh played out a quick draw with Wesley So to move to six points with three rounds still to go in the Rapid event. The win against Sindarov earned the Indian two points, while the draw fetched him one.
So is the joint leader on nine points alongside fellow American Hans Niemann. The duo is followed by Vladimir Fedoseev, who is a point behind, while Gukesh is tied on six points with Fabiano Caruana, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave as he looks to climb further up the standings in the remaining rounds.
Gukesh was in full flow as he matched Sindarov move for move in what was the first clash between the two ahead of their World Championship meeting in December.
Interestingly, both Gukesh and Sindarov entered the fifth round after defeats in their previous games. The Indian had gone down to Radosław Wojtaszek, while Sindarov lost to Wesley So.
