Prague, 01 March (H.S.): World Champion D. Gukesh's search for a first victory continued into the fourth round of the Prague International Chess Festival, where Czech Grandmaster David Navara secured a draw.Gukesh aimed for early dominance with the Ruy Lopez Berlin opening, but Navara's seasoned defense held firm, culminating in a rook-and-pawn endgame draw after 72 moves.

Netherlands' Jorden van Foreest claimed his third win in four games, defeating Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Yakubboev. Defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram suffered defeat against Germany's Vincent Keymer, who exploited a king-side assault in the Philidor Defense—Chithambaram losing a pawn followed by a bishop, sealing his fate.

Other matches ended level: USA's Hans Moke Niemann versus Iran's Parham Maghsoodloo, and Spain's David Anton Guijarro against Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov.Van Foreest tops the standings with 3 points, trailed by Abdusattorov and Navara on 2.5. Yakubboev, Keymer, and Guijarro sit half a point back at 2, while Gukesh, Chithambaram, Niemann, and Maghsoodloo share 1.5 points in joint seventh.

In the Challengers section, India's Divya Deshmukh drew with Czech Vaclav Finek, and Surya Shekhar Ganguly split the point with Stepan Hrbek. Finek leads Challengers with 3; Deshmukh has 1.5, Ganguly 1.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar