Gukesh is currently the joint leader in the Tata Steel chess tournament standings in the masters section after defeating Pentala Harikrishna in Round 7. (PHOTO: Lennart Ootes via Tata Steel Chess)
Gukesh defeated compatriot Pentala Harikrishna in 46 moves in round 7 to surge into joint lead at the Tata Steel chess tournament.
Harikrishna was part of Team Gukesh as the 18-year-old from Chennai defeated Ding Liren in Singapore in November-December to become the youngest world champion in chess history. Harikrishna and Gukesh were also teammates in the gold medal winning Indian team at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest last year.
Harikrishna is, in fact, the second member of Team Gukesh that the teenager had defeated at the Tata Steel chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Gukesh has also defeated German GM Vincent Keymer earlier in the tournament. Gukesh has now drawn four games while winning three.
Gukesh currently shares lead with compatriot Praggnanandhaa and Uzbek arch-rival Nodirbek Abdusattarov, who he had defied in round 6 to salvage a draw from an inferior position. All three players have five points each after seven games with six more rounds remaining. Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa will clash in Round 8.
Talking about facing Pragg, Gukesh said: “It’ll be a cool game. All of us youngsters will be playing a lot of games against each other and every game will be exciting. It will be a fun game.”
Magnus Carlsen had called the Tata Steel chess event at the Dutch village of Wijk aan Zee like a “detox for the soul”, because it was an occasion to just focus on the chess.
Gukesh agreed, saying it was nice how at Wijk aan Zee, there were not too many people.
“It’s nice (playing here), you look out the window and you don’t see anyone. And in India you don’t get that. It’s nice to have this change and it’s a fun tournament to play in. It had a special place in my heart,” Gukesh said after his win.
How Gukesh defeated Harikrishna
The world champion was playing with white against Harikrishna. Gukesh held a slight edge on the board from the 12th move itself when harikrishna played 12… Nfe7?!, which the engine said was an inaccuracy instead of 12… Ncxd4 which was the best move in the circumstance.
Two moves later, Harikrishna played another inaccuracy: 14… Nf5?! instead of 14…g6 which was the best move.
But Gukesh held an overwhelming advantage after Harikrishna played 29… Nxe3?? (classified by the engine as a blunder instead of 29… Bxe3, which was the best move).
From that point on, things were never easy for Harikrishna as the 18-year-old kept the pressure until the end.
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