Chess World Cup: R Praggnanandhaa holds Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to draw in Game 1; Vidit Gujrathi beats Jeffery Xiong

Sochi, Russia: Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa held highly-rated Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the first game of the two-game mini-match in the men’s fourth round of the FIDE Chess World Cup in Sochi on Thursday. Vidit Santosh Gujrathi took a huge step towards securing a berth in Round five by winning the first game against Jeffery Xiong (US) in 49 moves. The 15-year-old Praggnanandhaa (Elo rating 2608), playing in his maiden World Cup, did not seem overawed by the reputation and superior rating (Elo 2760) of his opponent and held him to a 29-move draw in a Grunfeld Burille Variation opening. The duo will play the second game on Friday. In the Gujrathi-Xiong match, the latter made a mistake under time pressure and allowed the Indian to work his way to a win and head into Friday’s game with a big advantage. Russia’s Vladimir Fedoseev posted a win over Vladislav Kovalev in the first game to gain the advantage. Meanwhile, Radoslaw Wojtaszek (Poland) held tournament favourite and world No 1 Magnus Carlsen to a 35-move draw in Game 1.