Tata Steel Chess 2026: Gukesh, Arjun play out sedate draw as Praggnanandhaa finally opens account

Arjun Erigaisi remained in the joint lead along with four other players after playing out a draw against D Gukesh in Round 3 of the ongoing Tata Steel Chess tournament on Monday.  Indian No 1 Arjun is currently tied for the top spot in the ‘Masters’ section of the tournament that’s taking place at the Netherlands’ Wijk aan Zee with Grandmasters Hans Niemann, Matthias Bluebaum, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and home favourite Jorden van Foreest.

Reigning world champion D Gukesh, who had narrowly missed out on the title last year after losing to compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in the playoffs, finds himself in a six-way tie for the second spot with a score of 1.5 – which is the score that compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram is on at present, along with Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Thai Dai Van Nguyen, Vladimir Fedoseev and Javokhir Sindarov.

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No Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, only one Indian to compete at FIDE World Freestyle Chess Championship Tata Steel Chess 2026: Praggnanandhaa suffers second straight defeat after another poor game as Gukesh is held to a draw

Results of the Masters & Challengers after Round 3!💙#TataSteelChess pic.twitter.com/usacwhPwHP

— Tata Steel Chess Tournament (@tatasteelchess) January 19, 2026

Round 3 of the ‘Masters’ section of the prestigious tournament witnessed five out of seven games end in a draw. The two matches that ended on a decisive note witnessed German GM Bluebaum defeat compatriot Vincent Keymer and van Foreest triumph over Anish Giri in an all-Dutch showdown.

Meanwhile, defending champion Praggnanandhaa finally opened his account after back-to-back defeats with a draw against Czech GM van Nguyen. The 20-year-old, however, remains at the bottom of the table alongside Giri with half-a-point to his name.

Gukesh, Arjun shake hands at the end of 34 moves

The main event of the day, however, was the showdown between world champion Gukesh and Arjun, who had been the top Indian in the FIDE Classical ratings for the better part of 2025 and had also been the country’s top performer in the Rapid and Blitz formats over the past year.

The battle between the young stars lasted just 34 moves as they opted to shake hands and split a point on an even position. The contest began with a Queen’s Gambit opening with Arjun playing as white, and it was Gukesh who drew first blood with a pawn capture on the c-file (2. dxc4) in just his second move. Gukesh continued to attack thereafter, offering an early check with his dark-squared bishop (4. Bb4+), forcing Arjun to bring his knight out to block the path.

Arjun attempted to take the action towards Gukesh’s side of the board, initiating a knight exchange in the 13th move (Nxd7) with Gukesh’s queen lurking nearby. He then attempted to challenge the black queen with his dark-squared bishop (16. Bg5), but Gukesh safely negotiated the ploy by placing his f-pawn between the two pieces, forcing the bishop into a retreat.

Both players later lost a pair of knights (24. Nxf4, Bxf4) and bishops (27. Bxd6 Qxd6) shortly after. However, neither player was able to gain a decisive advantage over the other, with the eval bar remaining close to level throughout the game.

The fourth round of the Masters’ section on Tuesday witnesses Gukesh face Praggnanandhaa in a rematch of last year’s top two players. Arjun, meanwhile, faces Giri while Aravindh is up against controversial American GM Niemann.

As for the ‘Challengers’ section, Azerbaijani GM Aydin Suleymanli is in the lead with 2.5 points after three rounds, with seven players, including Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva, tied for the second spot with 2 points.