How D Gukesh was held to a draw by Vladimir Fedoseev in Round 2 of Tata Steel Chess

After returning to action on a winning note, reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju was held to a draw by Slovenia's Vladimir Fedoseev in the second round of the ongoing Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands on Sunday. And among other Indians in action in the second round, GM Leon Mendonca suffered a second straight defeat after losing to Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

And in the all-Indian clash between R Praggnanandhaa and Pentala Harikrishna, it was the relatively inexperienced ‘Pragg’ who emerged triumphant.

How Gukesh was held to a draw

For Gukesh, it was his first draw since being crowned world champion a month ago, having defeated Dutch GM Anish Giri on Saturday.

Also Read | Nakamura hails Gukesh after world champion's win over Anish in Tata Steel Chess opener

Gukesh, wearing a grey hoodie instead of a more formal blazer, responded to Fedoseev’s Queen’s pawn opening by advancing his knight to f6 and would later initiate a pawn exchange along the c file. After both players castled in the 15th and 16th moves, Gukesh initiated a bishop exchange in the 24th move, which the Russian GM accepted.

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Gukesh seems to have stabilized a tough position vs. Fedoseev. Howell: "It's good that the FIDE dress code is not in force!" #TataSteelChess pic.twitter.com/5nFyktbBX6

— chess24 (@chess24com) January 19, 2025

A major moment in the game was when both players opted to sacrifice their queens in Move 34. That was followed by a knight exchange five moves later.

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Despite appearing to be on the backfoot, Gukesh neutralised Fedoseev’s advantage and steered the game towards a draw with a rook-and-pawn endgame.

Also settling for a draw on Sunday was world No 4 Arjun Erigaisi, who settled for a stalemate against Giri, opening his account as a result after starting the event with a defeat against compatriot Harikrishna.

Round 2 Results

Masters: Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 1) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 1.5); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 1.5) beat Leon Luke Mendonca (Ind, 0); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 1.5) beat Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 0.5); Alexey Sarana (Srb, 1) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 1).

Challengers: Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 0.5) drew with Nguyen Thai van Dam (Cze, 1.5); R Vaishali (Ind, 1.5) drew with Miaoyi Lu (Chn, 1.5); Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 1.5) drew with Nodirbek Kazybek (Kaz, 0.5); Benjamin Bok (Ned, 1.5) beat Ediz Gurel (Tur, 1); Arthur Pijpers (Ned, 0.5) drew with Aydin Sulemanli (Aze, 1).