In chess, Indian players made a strong start at the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Reigning world champion D Gukesh registered a commanding victory over France’s Etienne Bacrot in the first round. Playing with the black pieces, Gukesh chose the solid Caro-Kann Defence – and when the moment arrived, he pounced with precision to deliver a knockout blow. With this win, Gukesh switches to the white pieces for his next game, which is considered his expertise. On the other hand, top seed R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by American Grandmaster Jeffery Xiong in the first round of the 11-round tournament.
In other results, Divya Deshmukh lost her first game to Abhimanyu Puranik. But defending champion Vidit Gujrathi emerged victorious against Alexander Donchenko of Germany. R. Vaishali defeated Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova of Uzbekistan. Vantika Agrawal also won her contest against Yulia Osmak of Ukraine. D. Harika settled for a draw against Marcel Eforimski of Israel.
