WR Chess Masters 2023: India’s D Gukesh bests Russia’s Andrey Esipenko in Round 7

Indian Ace Chess player D Gukesh outsmarted his opponent Andrey Esipenko in the seventh round of WR Chess Masters 2023 on Thursday. Gukesh had played only two Classical rated games against Esipenko until Thursday. Both shared a win each with the black pieces.
Gukesh, who is the 44th Chess Olympiad individual Gold medal, is to join Aronian in the lead. Gukesh scored the first win of the event with the black pieces and Nepomniachtchi scored the second. It is astounding that no wins were scored with the black pieces for six rounds.
R Praggnanandhaa drew against Wesley So after nearly a seven-hour-long battle. Round 8 starts on Friday from 6:30 pm ().
Gukesh, who is now the third-youngest Grandmaster in hory, broke several records in 2022. In March, the Chennai lad became only the sixth Indian to break the 2700 Elo rating mark and the youngest Indian GM to be rated above 2700.
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The 16-year-old Grandmaster, playing with black pieces, had held five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen to a draw in the ninth round of the Tata Steel Masters being held in Wijk aan Zee last month. Having beaten Carlsen in an online rapid chess game last year, it was the first time the teen was facing Carlsen in over-the-board classical chess.