Candidates chess: Gukesh slips to tied 2nd after draw; losses for Pragg, Gujrathi
Toronto (PTI): Grandmaster D Gukesh played out a creditable draw against top seed Fabiano Caruana but slipped a rung to the joint second position on a day when two other Indians endured frustrating losses in the Candidates Chess Tournament's 11th round here.
Nerves finally came into play as R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi lost their way against American Hikaru Nakamura and Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi respectively.
But 17-year-old Gukesh held his own against Caruana. In the other encounter, Frenchman Firouza Alireza proved superior to Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan.
With just three rounds remaining, the die seems to be cast in favour of Nepomniachtchi, who is gunning for his third straight Candidates title.
The Russian, who has to compete under the FIDE flag here owing to his country's international suspension, shot back to sole lead on seven points out of a possible 11 and it would be difficult for other contestants to get past him.
Caruana, Nakamura and Gukesh are in pursuit of the leader half a point behind in the standings.
Praggnanandhaa and Gujrathi have fallen apart with 5.5 and five points respectively. Coming back from behind is Alireza, who probably has no contest from Abasov in the bottom half.
In the women's competition, the Chinese continued to dominate as Zhongyi Tan scored over Kateryna Lagno of Russia to regain sole lead ahead of compatriot Tingjie Lei, who played out a draw with Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine.
R Vaishali came back roaring, albeit a bit late, to beat top-seeded Russian Aleksandra Goryachkina while Koneru Humpy proved too good to avenge her early loss at the hands of Nurgyul Salimova of Bulgaria.
Tan continued to reign supreme with seven points. Lei stood half a point behind, and the Russian duo of Lagno and Goryachkina were virtually out of the race along with a resurgent Humpy, who has warmed up towards the close, with 5.5 points.
Praggnanandhaa, who has been quite popular among the fans, played with white and faced an irregular queen pawn opening. For once, the Indian did not seem to know much about the subtleties.
Nakamura took command when necessary and it was one of those days for Praggnanandhaa when nothing went right. The Indian lost a piece trapped in the corner of the board and Nakamura was never going to let him get away with any lapses.
Gujrathi lost to Nepomniachtchi out of a Petroff defense. The opening has been serving well for the Russian since 2018 when he won his first Candidates tournament and it did not disappoint him.
The middle game saw Gujrathi on top more than once but Nepomniachtchi hung in there to his credit.
Gujrathi had more than a few chances to come up victorious but one spoiler took over another till Nepomniachtchi had the game firmly in his grasp.
The Russian is a known technician and won a piece for effectively no counter-play. The rest was easy.
Gukesh was the only one to keep his nerves intact despite his tender age. The Queen's gambit landed in a worse position for the talented lad but he fought on to equalise against Caruana in the ensuing queen and pawns endgame.
In the women's section, Humpy skilfully won a pawn against Salimova out of a queen pawn opening. The Bulgarian tried hard for a counter-play but that did not happen and in the endgame, Humpy was class personified.
Liquidating into a rook and pawns endgame, Humpy showed her true mettle and went on to score a commendable victory.
For Vaishali it was a game of fluctuating fortunes in which she had several chances to force a draw. Goryachkina might have been satisfied with a drawn result but Vaishali was on a mission in the Queen's and pawns endgame. The game lasted 70 moves.
Results round 11 (Indians unless specified):
D Gukesh (6.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 6); Vidit Gujrathi (5) lost to Ian Nepomniachtchi (Fid, 7); R Praggnanandhaa (5.5) lost to Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 6.5) (Aze, 3); Firouza Alireza (Fra, 4.5) beat Nijat Abasov (Aze, 3).
Women: Koneru Humpy (5.5) beat Nurgyul Salimova (Bul, 4); R Vaishali (4.5) beat Aleksandra Goryachkina (Fid, 5.5); Zhongyi Tan (7.5) beat Kateryna Lagno (Fid, 5.5); Tingjei Lei (Chn, 7) drew with Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 4.5).
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Mann has 'understanding' with Amit Shah to split AAP after Lok Sabha polls, claims SAD chief Badal
Sangrur (Punjab), May 11: Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has an "understanding" with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to split AAP into a separate Punjab unit after the elections, like Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde did in Maharashtra, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed on Saturday.
Badal made the claim while addressing rallies at Sunam and Dhuri for the Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Sangrur candidate Iqbal Singh Jhundan.
"Bhagwant Mann has compromised with the BJP as he felt he would also be arrested like his boss (Arvind) Kejriwal because he had also perpetrated the same liquor scam as done by AAP in Delhi. This understanding has saved him from arrest," Badal alleged.
Shiv Sena leader Shinde became Maharashtra chief minister after parting ways with Uddhav Thackeray and forming an alliance with the BJP.
The Election Commission of India has since recognised the Shinde faction as officially representing the Shiv Sena while the Thackeray-led faction has been using the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) name.
The Shiromani Akali Dal chief also asserted that no Delhi-based party can be trusted with votes.
"Bhagwant Mann has opened channels with both the BJP and the Congress to hedge his bet. While he has an informal understanding with the BJP, he has also aligned with the Congress in Punjab and is putting up a friendly fight in most constituencies," Badal said.
He cited how AAP is contesting against the Congress in Punjab but Mann has been campaigning for the grand old party in Chandigarh and Haryana.
AAP and the Congress are constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc. While the two parties are contesting the Lok Sabha elections independently in Punjab, they have an alliance in Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana and Chandigarh.
Urging Punjabis to "seal the borders" for all Delhi-based parties, Badal said, "The AAP government in Punjab and the Union government colluded to prevent our farmers from marching to Delhi. This led to firing of tear gas shells at our farmers and even firing of rubber bullets. Now it is your turn to seal the borders of Punjab with your votes."
He also made a case for trusting the Shiromani Akali Dal -- a home-grown party of Punjab.
Badal said the Shiromani Akali Dal has always stood for safeguarding the interests of Punjab and decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections alone when it became clear that the BJP was not ready to resolve any of the pending grievances of the farmers or the Sikh community.
He also announced that once the Shiromani Akali Dal is elected to power, it will release tubewell connections to all agriculturists who do not have a single connection in their name.
He also promised that all social welfare schemes that have been curtailed by successive Congress and AAP governments would be revived in totality.
