Gukesh and Caruana Lead After Tough Draws at Superbet Chess Classic

D Gukesh and Fabiano Caruana lead with 1.5 points each after second-round draws at the Superbet Chess Classic, part of the Grand Chess Tour. R Praggnanandhaa and Alireza Firouzja also had notable performances, while other matches ended in draws or minor setbacks.

World Championship challenger D Gukesh fought to a draw with Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi, while R Praggnanandhaa also split points with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the second round of the Superbet Chess Classic, part of the Grand Chess Tour.

A rare blunder cost top seed Fabiano Caruana his second consecutive win against Wesley So. However, Alireza Firouzja of France launched his campaign with a triumphant victory over Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Another match in the $350,000 prize tournament saw Anish Giri of Holland unable to overcome Romania's lowest-ranked Deac Bogdan-Daniel.

With seven rounds remaining in the 10-player double round-robin tournament, Gukesh and Caruana hold the lead with 1.5 points each. Trailing them are Alireza, Praggnanandhaa, Giri, Wesley Vachier-Lagrave, and Nepomniachtchi, all at one point, while Deac Bogdan-Daniel and Abdusattorov each have half a point.