R Praggnanandhaa Continues Draw Streak at Sinquefield Cup

St. Louis (US), Aug 25 (PTI) - Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa continued his streak of draws at the Sinquefield Cup, part of the Grand Chess Tour, by securing his fifth consecutive one against Poland's Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the sixth round.

With this outcome, Praggnanandhaa accumulated 3.5 points from six matches, holding on to a joint second place. Leading the pack is American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, who stands at 4 points, maintaining a narrow half-point lead over his competitors.

Joining Praggnanandhaa in the joint second position is American Levon Aronian. Meanwhile, World Champion D Gukesh is tied for the fourth spot with 3 points along with Wesley So and Samuel Sevian of the United States, as well as the French pair of Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

In another drawn round, Gukesh managed to wriggle out of a tricky situation to secure a draw against Firouzja.

In a day where no decisive games were recorded, Caruana drew against Sevian, while Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave also settled for a draw. Aronian and Wesley So followed suit, marking the second consecutive day of drawn games.

Praggnanandhaa opted for the Alapin variation against Duda's Sicilian Defense, briefly gaining a visual advantage.

However, Duda responded with a timely rook sacrifice after Praggnanandhaa castled on the queenside. Praggnanandhaa returned the extra material, leading to a draw via perpetual checks after 32 moves.

Gukesh faced Firouzja's imaginative middle game play after opening with the King's pawn against the Sicilian Defense. Despite losing a pawn, Gukesh's solid endgame tactics allowed him to neutralize his opponent's advantage.

Caruana's draw with Sevian emerged from a Ragozin Defense, where after an even stance, Caruana played a questionable pawn exchange. His kingside position came under pressure, leading to a repetition and a quick conclusion after just 27 moves.

Round 6 results: R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 3.5) drew with Duda Jan-Krzysztof (Pol, 2.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 3) drew with Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 3); Samuel Sevian (USA, 3) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 4); Levon Aronian (USA, 3.5) drew with Wesley So (USA, 3); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 1.5) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 3).

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