World Champion D Gukesh was held to a draw by 14-year-old Yagiz Khan Erdogmus of Turkey, while defending champion R Vaishali excelled at the expense of Eline Roebers of Holland in the second round of the FIDE Grand Swiss Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Friday.
In the open section, Gukesh squandered a winning position against Erdogmus and eventually had to settle for a draw in a dramatic, time-troubled encounter.
But top seeded Praggnanandhaa scored his first victory in the event, defeating Ivan Zenlyanskiii who is playing under the FIDE flag because Russia is banned.
In the open section of this 855000 USD prize money events, Alireza Firouzja of France, Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran and Anton Demchenko of Slovenia share the lead on two points each.
Vaishali joined the leading group in women's section with her back-to-back victories on two points from as many games and she now shares the top slot with Olga Bedelka of Austria.
Given the strength in their ratings, Vaishali is poised to take the sole lead in the event she had won two years back and had given a demonstration of Indian women's chess.
This is the fourth edition of the Grand Swiss, with the top two players in both sections set to qualify for the eight-player 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournaments that decide the next world championship challengers.
The USD 625,000 Open section (USD 90,000 for first place) has 116 players, with the field topped by the Indian triumvirate of GMs Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, and Gukesh.