World champion D Gukesh’s search for his first victory continued as he was held to a 72-move draw by David Navara in the fourth round of the Prague International Chess Festival here on Saturday, while Jorden van Foreest moved into sole lead with his third win in four games.
Gukesh, playing white, pressed for advantage out of a Ruy Lopez Berlin but could not break through Navara’s resolute defence. The Czech No. 1 absorbed sustained pressure before steering the contest into a level rook-and-pawns endgame. With only bare kings left on the board after 72 moves, the players split the point.
With five rounds remaining in the 10-player round-robin tournament, van Foreest tops the standings on three points. He defeated Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan to continue his fine run of form.
Van Foreest is followed by Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Navara on 2.5 points. Yakubboev, Vincent Keymer and David Anton Guijarro are placed next on two points. Gukesh, defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram, Hans Moke Niemann and Parham Maghsoodloo are tied on 1.5 points each.
Also read: Aravindh gets past Niemann, Gukesh holds Yakubboev
Chithambaram went down fighting against Germany’s Vincent Keymer. Opting for the Philidor Defence, the Indian conceded the initiative early as Keymer launched a kingside attack. A pawn fell in the ensuing tactical complications and, soon after, Chithambaram lost a bishop without significant counterplay in what proved a largely one-sided encounter.
Van Foreest, who had defeated Gukesh in an earlier round, once again demonstrated resilience. Playing with black against Yakubboev, the Dutchman withstood pressure in a complex middlegame before capitalising on a critical error to secure the full point.
Elsewhere, Hans Moke Niemann drew with Parham Maghsoodloo, while David Anton Guijarro shared the point with Abdusattorov.
In the Challengers section being held alongside the Masters event, Divya Deshmukh drew with sole leader Vanclav Finek of the Czech Republic. Surya Shekhar Ganguly also signed peace with local player Stepan Hrbek.
Finek leads the Challengers on three points. Divya has 1.5 points from four rounds, while Ganguly has collected one point so far.
With the tournament approaching its halfway stage, Gukesh will look to convert promising positions into victories in the remaining rounds to stay in contention.
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