Prague, February 26 World champion D Gukesh overcame some tense moments in the early middle game before finally drawing with Hans Moke Niemann of the United States in the first round of the masters section of the Prague International Chess Festival here.
The Berlin defense, which went wrong for white, could be a perfect setup for the encounter between the world champion and Niemann, who is making his way into the elite chess circles after being indirectly accused of cheating.
It may be recalled that the American famously won a game against world number one Magnus Carlsen, which will now be documented in a forthcoming Netflix series.
Niemann came out strong and sacrificed a piece with black on move 13, putting Gukesh under pressure despite having the white pieces.
The Indian was down but not out, as he proved as the game progressed, and even though black seemed to be pushing for more with his extra pawns in exchange for the sacrificed knight, Gukesh ensured that he stayed in the game.
The eventual outcome was a draw, the only one in the 10-player, nine-round tournament that saw everyone with white pieces triumph in contrasting styles.
Defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram of India found himself in a difficult position against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
The Philidor defense by the Indian generated enough evidence that every opening could be played until he fell into a clever move.
Aravindh lost in the rook and minor piece endgame after losing one of his pawns, and if that was not enough, top-seeded Vincent Keymer of Germany was defeated by a resurgent Jorden van Foreest of The Netherlands.
It was another Berlin defense, in which Foreest came out with a new idea that perplexed Keymer. As the opening concluded, the Dutchman had an advantage and he picked up a handful of pawns to register a comprehensive victory.
Also ending on a winning note was Abdusattorov's namesake and teammate Nodirbek Yakubboev, who defeated David Anton Guijarro of Spain, while in the other encounter of the day, local favourite Navara David proved stronger against Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo.
In the challengers section, women's world cup winner Divya Deshmukh drew with top-seeded Benjamin Gledura of Hungary from a position of strength, while Surya Shekhar Ganguly lost to Thomas Beerdsen of The Netherlands.
Results after round 1 Masters: D Gukesh (IND) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (USA); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) beat Aravindh Chithambaram (IND); Jorden van Foreest (NED) beat Vincent Keymer (GER); David Navara (CZE) beat Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI); Nodirbek Yakubboev beat David Anton Guijarro (ESP).
Challengers: Divya Deshmukh (IND) drew with Benjamin Gledura (HUN); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND) lost to Thomas Beersden (NED); Zhu Jiner (CHN) lost to Jachym Nemec (CZE); Daniel Yuffa (ESP) lost to Stepen Hrbek (CZE); Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN) drew with Vaclav Finek (CZE).
