Gukesh beats Deac Bogdan-Daniel in Superbet Classic chess

Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh commenced his campaign on a winning note, defeating Romania's Deac Bogdan-Daniel in the opening round of the Superbet Classic chess tournament.
Gukesh, who is set to challenge reigning World Champion Ding Liren of China later this year, benefited from a tactical oversight by both players in the middle game but quickly capitalized on his advantage to secure the victory in his first classical game since winning the Candidates tournament.
Fellow Indian R Praggnanandhaa, despite his best efforts, had to settle for a draw against Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov in a closely-fought encounter. The other victor of the round was Fabiano Caruana of the United States, who overcame France's Firouzja Alireza, while the remaining two games in the 10-player round-robin tournament concluded in draws.
Deac Bogdan-Daniel opted for the Nimzo Indian defense, leading to a complex middle game. The Romanian successfully found counter-attacks and captured a sacrificed pawn. The position appeared promising when Gukesh made an error, allowing a tactical skirmish. However, Bogdan-Daniel missed the optimal move and ended up exchanging his rook for a minor piece. Although the position remained intricate, Gukesh navigated it with ease.
Praggnanandhaa, playing with black pieces, faced the Ruy Lopez against Abdusattorov. Following the initial opening duel, the Indian gained a pawn advantage, reaching a rook and pawns endgame. While the position remained within the realms of a draw, Praggnanandhaa persisted for over sixty moves. However, Abdusattorov held his ground, and the two players eventually agreed to a draw.
Caruana found himself in a challenging position in the middle game arising from a London system, but Alireza failed to find the correct attacking moves. The American consistently exchanged pieces, and his extra pawn proved advantageous in the resulting queen and minor piece endgame.
In other matches of the day, Dutchman Anish Giri drew against American Wesley So, while France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave also split the point with Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi.