Prague (Czech Republic), March 5 World Champion D Gukesh continued his pursuit of a win as Iranian player Parham Maghsoodloo drew with the Indian star in the seventh round of the masters section of the Prague International chess festival here.
With just two rounds remaining, Gukesh sits in last place with two points.
The four draws have come alongside three painful defeats, and this could be the time for the youngest ever world champion to look for certain reforms in his game.
Meanwhile, the other Indian in the event, defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram, drew with Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan to remain on a fifty percent score after seven games.
The sole winner of the day was Vincent Keymer of Germany, who defeated David Anton Guijarro of Spain, leaving Dutchman Jorden van Foreest half a point ahead of his closest rivals David Navara of the Czech Republic and Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
Gukesh employed the Berlin defense and achieved a solid position with his black pieces against Maghsoodloo.
The Iranian was happy to maintain the position for a long time, and once the black queen-side pawns were mobilized, white was in a good position to take adequate measures in the centre.
The game ended in a draw after 49 moves.
In the challengers' section, Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh had another good result, holding Jonas Buhl Bjerre of Denmark to a draw, while Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly finally scored his first victory against Jiner Zhu of China.
Results: Round 7 Masters: Parham Maghsoodloo (Iri, 3.5) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 2); Aravindh Chithambaram (Ind, 3) drew with Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 3); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 3.5) beat David Anton Guijarro (Esp, 3.5); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5) drew with Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 5); David Navara (Cze, 4.5) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (Usa, 2.5).
Challengers: Thomas Beerdsen (Ned, 3.5) lost to Daniil Yuffa (Esp, 4); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (Ind, 2.5) beat Jiner Zhu (Chn, 2); Finek Vanclav (Cze, 5) drew with Benjamin Gledura (Hun, 3.5); Nemec Jachym (Cze, 4) beat Hrbek Stepan (Cze, 3.5); Jonas Bjerre Buhl (Den, 3.5) drew with Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 3.5).
