Prague Masters Chess: D Gukesh Defeats Vincent Keymer, R. Praggnanandhaa Draws With Mateusz Bartel

New Delhi: Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh defeated Vincent Keymer of Germany, but his compatriot R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by Mateusz Bartel of Poland in the eight and penultimate round of Prague Masters Chess tournament here on Thursday.

Uzbek Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattarov’s winning run continued as he crashed through the defences of Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran to win the title with one round still remaining.

With six points in his bag now, Abdusattarov has an unassailable 1.5 points lead. The Uzbek also climbed up to fourth spot in world ranking following his stupendous show here.

The other Indian in the fray — Vidit Gujrathi also played out a draw with Richard Rapport of Romania.

With just one round remaining, Maghssodloo, Praggnanandhaa and Nguyen Thai Dai Van of Czech Republic share the second spot on 4.5 points apiece.

Praggnandhaa did not get many chances against Bartel out of a Sicilian Classical defense with black.

The Polish GM opened up the centre at an opportune moment and opened up the black king side through an exchange sacrifice. The result was a draw through perpetual checks.