St. Louis (USA), Aug 25 (HS): Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa played out his fifth straight draw, this time against Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the sixth round of the Sinquefield Cup, part of the Grand Chess Tour. With 3.5 points from six games, the 19-year-old remains in joint second place.

American GM Fabiano Caruana continues to lead the standings with 4 points, holding a slender half-point edge. Praggnanandhaa shares the second spot with USA’s Levon Aronian, while reigning world champion D. Gukesh is tied for fourth on 3 points alongside Wesley So, Sam Sevian, Alireza Firouzja, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Round six saw all matches ending in draws for the second consecutive day. Gukesh salvaged a half-point against Firouzja despite being on the back foot, while Caruana–Sevian, Abdusattorov–Vachier-Lagrave, and Aronian–So also ended level.

Praggnanandhaa, playing the Alapin Variation against Duda’s Sicilian Defence, gained an early edge but was forced to split the point after Duda’s exchange sacrifice restored balance. The game wrapped up in just 32 moves.

Gukesh, opting for King’s Pawn Opening against the Sicilian, lost a pawn in the middlegame but displayed gritty defense to hold a minor-piece endgame and secure a draw.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar