World champion D Gukesh was held to a draw by the lone wild card Samuel Sevian of United States, while fellow Indian R Praggnanandhaa also split the point with Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the third round of the Sinquefield Cup here.
With his second draw in as many days, Praggnanadhaa remained in the leading group of three players that now include Fabiano Caruana of United States besides the overnight co-leader Armenian-turned-American Levon Aronian.
Caruana handed Alireza Firouzja of France his first loss in the tournament in the lone decisive game of the day. Aronian was held to a draw by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, while another American Wesley So split the point with Duda Jan-Kryzsztof of Poland.
With six rounds still to come in the 3,75,000 USD prize money tournament, Praggnanadhaa, Aronian and Caruana share the lead on two points each and they are now followed by Wesley, Firouzja, Vachier-Lagrave, Sevian and Gukesh -- who all stand a half point behind.
Duda is next in line on one point, while Abdusattorov opened his account to be on a half point from his first three outings here.
For Gukesh, first draw in the tournament was rather easy with black pieces. Samuel Sevian tried his hands at the Rosslimo variation against the Sicilian defense but Gukesh was always in control. The middle game arrived and passed smoothly as both players exchanged pieces at regular intervals leading to a drawn endgame.
Praggnanandhaa played his first black after two white games and chose the Nimzo-Indian defence wherein Abdusattorov, struggling to find his form, could not get much. The players reached an opposite coloured Bishops endgame where the draw was a just result.
It could have been an uneventful day but for Caruana who played a fine positional game to outwit Firouzja. The Fianchetto variation against the Nimzo gave Caruana a spatial advantage as his pieces stood better in the middle game and after a fine grind the American pushed his central passed pawn to the seventh rank for the desired effect.
With the top four places in the Grand chess tour at stake for the grand finale later this year, Caruana seemed pleased with his victory. The American observed that Vachier-Lagrave has almost qualified and the rest of the bunch is fighting for the last spots.
Results round 3: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 0.5) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 2) Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 2) beat Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 1.5); Duda Jan Kryzstof (Pol, 1) drew with Wesley So (Usa, 1.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 1.5) drew with Levon Aronian (Usa, 1.5) Samuel Sevian (Usa, 1.5) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 1.5).
