international champion D Gukesh will tackle neighborhood famous person Anish Giri within the starting spherical of the 87th Tata metal Chess event in Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands) on Saturday, marking his first competitive trip due to the fact that claiming the coveted crown remaining month.
Giri, the 2023 winner, holds the popularity of being a hard cookie way to his impeccable theoretical information and studies that has been the Dutchman's strong point for many years now.
however, 18-yr-vintage Gukesh, who loves to go together with a no-draw approach in every sport he plays, is in notable shape and may stay up for a strong campaign after the sector championship overcome chinese Ding Liren in Singapore.
Gukesh obtained India's highest carrying honour, the important Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, in delhi this morning from President Droupadi Murmu and left for the Dutch metropolis without delay after the rite.
The five-participant indian contingent will see an all-Indian duel as early as round one as arjun Erigaisi will face remaining-minute-replacement Pentala Harikrishna inside the opener.
arjun, known for his ability to complicate any position, may have an exhausting mission against Harikrishna who is incredible-solid with white pieces. curiously, Harikrishna got here inside the blend of things as another indian Vidit Gujrathi withdrew because of private reasons.
The most exciting warfare of the primary spherical is likely to be between R Praggnanandhaa who takes on Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
Praggnanandhaa did no longer have a remarkable 2024 and would really like to make amends by way of starting the year on a high-quality be aware.
The 5th indian inside the fray made it to the elite group after triumphing the challengers in 2024. Leon Luke Mendonca won't have the credentials of different 4 compatriots in fray but the youngster is virtually the darkish horse, who can placed all and sundry in a difficulty function on his day.
Mendonca will tackle German Vincent Keymer, who's speedy improving and must have gained loads at the same time as operating for Gukesh at some stage in the arena championship.
within the other lineups for the primary round, defending champion Wei Yi of china will meet pinnacle seed and international number two Fabiano Caruana of usa, Dutch Max Warmerdam will face Alexey Sarana of serbia and Slovenian Vladimir Fedoseev will be up against any other nearby hopeful Jorden van Foreest.
in the challengers' section, Grandmaster R Vaishali will face the youngest international grasp of the arena Oro Faustino of Argentina. The 11-year-old may be competing in his first important classical event after a number of his recent triumphs took him to a rating of 2447 factors.
Vaishali, as black, is rarely intimidated via younger players as she carved a gap for herself as a youngster too. The elder sister of Praggnanandhaa starts as a favorite and is probable to head all of the manner to begin her 12 months with a victory.
The most effective other indian within the Challengers occasion is divya Deshmukh and she or he faces one of the pre-event favourites Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan. divya is known to do her first-class in crunch situations and it remains to be seen how she handles the higher ranked players this yr.
Pairings spherical 1
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Masters:
D Gukesh (Ind) vs Anish Giri (Ned); P Harikrishna (Ind) vs arjun Erigaisi (Ind); Leon Luke Mendonca (Ind) vs Vincent Keymer (Ger); R Praggnanandhaa (Ind) vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb); Wei Yi (Chn) vs Fabiano Caruana (united states of america); Max Warmerdam (Ned) vs Alexey Sarana (Srb); Jorden van Foreest (Ned) vs Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo).
Challengers:
divya Deshmukh (Ind) vs Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb); Oro Faustino (Arg) vs R Vaishali (Ind); Nguyen Thai van Dam (Cze) vs Arthur Pijpers (Ned); Aydin Sulemanli (Aze) vs Benjamin Bok (Ned); Ediz Gurez (Tur) vs Irina Bulmaga (Rom); Erwin L'Ami (Ned) vs Frederic Svane (Ger); Mioyi Lu (Chn) vs Nodirbek Kazybek (Kaz).
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