Top seed Arjun Erigaisi scored a convincing victory over compatriot R Praggnanandhaa, while world champion D Gukesh played out a hard-fought draw against World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan in the first round of the Tata Steel Masters here.
It turned out to be an exciting start from Erigaisi after he faced the Queen’s Gambit Accepted against his friend Praggnanandhaa. Praggnanandhaa erred early in the middle game as his king got mired in the centre, with Erigaisi capitalising on the occasion to cause maximum damage. The game was over in just 32 moves.
Meanwhile, Gukesh came close, but could not convert his advantage into a victory over Sindarov, who played with white. The world champion came up with a stylish queen sacrifice that should have sealed the game. However, Sindarov put up a strong defence even though it seemed as if his king was in mortal danger. The contest was drawn after 78 moves.
The other Indian in the fray, Aravindh Chithambaram drew with Matthias Bluebaum of Germany.
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