Indian Grandmasters Vidit Gujrathi and R. Praggnanandhaa were held to a draw by their respective opponents in the second round of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, on Sunday.
World No.1 Magnus Carlsen registered his first win. Carlsen defeated Dutchman Anish Giri and joined Duda and Vidit Gujrathi at the top of the standings with 1.5 points.
Gujrathi drew in 27 moves against Fabiano Caruana (USA) with white, while Praggnanandhaa shared the point with Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) in the second round games. Praggnanandhaa and Duda played a solid game in which White had a slight advantage that was virtually impossible to turn into something tangible. A draw came as a logical outcome.
The only other winner of the day was Richard Rapport, who took full advantage of Jorden Van Foreest’s mistake in a knight endgame. All other games were drawn.
Gujrathi plays Daniil Dubov (Russia) in the third round later on Monday night and Praggnanandhaa takes on Van Foreest.
In the Challengers section being played simultaneously, India’s Arjun Erigaisi defeated Max Warmerdem in the second round. Erigaisi lies in the second spot along with compatriot Surya Shekhar Ganguly and Thai Dai Van Nguyen on 1.5 points.
- 1-3. Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Magnus Calsen and Vidit Gujrathi – 1½;
- 4-11. Fabiano Caruana, Richard Rapport, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Sergey Karjakin, Andrey Esipenko and Jorden Van Foreest – 1;
- 12-14. Sam Shankland, Nils Grandelius, Anish Giri – ½.
