World Champion D Gukesh needed six hours to draw, while R Praggnanandhaa took the sole lead overall with 3.5/4

Praggnanandhaa started off with an innocuous Ruy Lopez closed but found his chances in the middle game when Mendonca, could not handle the pressure of another high-profile game.

While Gukesh collected his third draw on the trot, R Praggnanandhaa continued to shine against his compatriots at the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands as he moved into the sole lead by completing a hat-trick of victories on Tuesday.

Gukesh and Caruana are both on two points after the result and it remains to be seen who among the rest could overtake them.

It’s something of a rite of passage in chess — the new champ is a marked man when he first returns to the board. Indian teenager Dommaraju Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion ever when he dethroned Chinese GM Deng Liren in their December title match,

Playing with white pieces, Praggnanandhaa secured an important win over Arjun, Gukesh D draws with Fabio Caruana.