World Champion D Gukesh needed six hours to draw, while R Praggnanandhaa took the sole lead overall with 3.5/4

While Gukesh collected his third draw on the trot, R Praggnanandhaa continued to shine against his compatriots at the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands as he moved into the sole lead by completing a hat-trick of victories on Tuesday.

It’s something of a rite of passage in chess — the new champ is a marked man when he first returns to the board. Indian teenager Dommaraju Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion ever when he dethroned Chinese GM Deng Liren in their December title match,

The ongoing Tata Steel chess tournament in the Dutch town of Wijk aan Zee will see a reunion of sorts for Gukesh and two of his seconds, who helped him become the youngest world champion in history by defeating Ding Liren in Singapore last month.

Reigning world champion D Gukesh and world number two Fabiano Caruana played out a stalemate that lasted just 24 moves, and are currently sitting at the third and fourth spots respectively with 2 points each.

Gukesh and Caruana are both on two points after the result and it remains to be seen who among the rest could overtake them.

Playing with white pieces, Praggnanandhaa secured an important win over Arjun, Gukesh D draws with Fabio Caruana.