D Gukesh crushes Indian ace who helped him win World Chess Championship

D Gukesh scored a crushing win over compatriot Pentala Harikrishna in round 7 to move into joint-lead in the Tata Steel Masters at Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands on Saturday.

The 18-year-old World Chess Champion thoroughly outplayed India No. 7 Harikrishna with white pieces. Gukesh has won three and drawn four of his games so far to take his tally to 5 points, alongside compatriot R Praggnanandhaa and Uzbek star Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Harikrishna found himself on the ropes after 29 moves when Gukesh threatened checkmate with his queen on the seventh rank. Harikrishna tried his best to salvage the position, but Gukesh slowly turned the screw, forcing a resignation on move 45.

Gukesh had secured a dramatic draw against Abdusattorov from the brink of defeat in the previous round. Gukesh will play with black pieces against his friend Praggnanandhaa in round eight on Sunday.

From second to rival
Interestingly, Harikrishna's two losses in the event so far have come against fellow Indians. He lost in round two to Praggnanandhaa.

Harikrishna was one of Gukesh's seconds during the World Chess Championship match against Ding Liren of China in Singapore last December. Besides Harikrishna, Gukesh's team of seconds in the World Championship comprised Polish Grandmasters Grzegorz Gajewski, popularly known as Gayu, and Radoslaw Wojtaszek.

Seconds are experts who assist a player in preparing for a big event like a world championship. They work behind the scenes and often remain unrevealed until after the tournament to keep the opposition guessing.

Gukesh recently overtook Arjun Erigaisi in live ratings to become India No. 1. Harikrishna had been India No. 1 briefly in March 2016 overtaking five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand.