In form: Gukesh’s moves were on point against Predke.
| Photo Credit: R. RAVINDRAN
D. Gukesh secured a win over Serbia’s Alexandr Predke in the fourth round of the Chennai Grand Masters Chess Championship at The Leela Palace hotel here on Monday.
Gukesh, with 2.5 points, is now the joint-leader with compatriot Pentala Harikrishna, who drew with USA’s Levon Aronian.
Speaking after the game, Aronian said: “It looked like a promising position for me. I think I was putting some pressure. And then, I think I didn’t play the most practical way. I got too greedy, maybe.”
Harikrishna said: “I played slightly passive in the opening and white (Aronian) had really nice position. But with what happened in the game (thereafter), I felt that it’s a draw.”
Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo, the top player here in terms of rating points, clinched his first win of the tournament after trumping Hungary’s Sanan Sjugirov.
Playing with white, Ukraine’s Pavel Eljanov could only manage to draw with the 20-year-old Arjun Erigaisi.
The results (fourth round): D. Gukesh (2.5) bt Alexandr Predke (Srb, 1); Pavel Eljanov (Ukr, 2) drew with Arjun Erigaisi (2); Levon Aronian (USA, 2) drew with Pentala Harikrishna (2.5); Parham Maghsoodloo (Irn, 2) bt Sanan Sjugirov (Hun, 2).