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Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa's hopes of a strong finish in the Superbet Classic tournament were dented after he was held to a draw by the lowest-ranked player in the field, Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania. The result leaves Praggnanandhaa in a three-way tie for second place, half a point behind tournament leader Fabiano Caruana of the United States.Praggnanandhaa, who has been in impressive form this year, tried to break down Bogdan-Daniel's solid Nimzo Indian defense but was unable to find a breakthrough. The game was eventually drawn through repetition after 38 moves."It was a tough game," said Praggnanandhaa. "I tried my best, but I couldn't find a way to win. I'm disappointed, but I'll try to come back stronger in the next round."Bogdan-Daniel, who is ranked 267th in the world, was delighted with his result. "I'm very happy with the draw," he said. "Praggnanandhaa is a very strong player, so I'm proud to have held him to a draw."In other games, Iranian-French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja continued his impressive form with a win over Wesley So of the United States. Firouzja, who is now tied for second place with Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh of India, is now just half a point behind Caruana.Gukesh, who is preparing for his World Championship match against Ding Liren in November, played a cautious game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France and settled for a draw.With just three rounds remaining in the tournament, Caruana is in a strong position to win the title. However, Praggnanandhaa, Firouzja, and Gukesh will all be looking to catch him and claim the top prize.

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa's quest for a joint lead at the Superbet Classic chess tournament was thwarted by a draw against compatriot D Gukesh in the third round. Despite having an opportunity to avenge his loss to Gukesh in the Candidates tournament earlier this year, Praggnanandhaa failed to find a winning continuation after Gukesh salvaged a drawn endgame.The Catalan opening witnessed Gukesh sacrificing a pawn early, with Praggnanandhaa countering on the Queen side. However, Gukesh regained the pawn and gained an optical advantage with his Knight against Praggnanandhaa's Bishop.In the ensuing endgame, Gukesh blundered on move 53, leading to a forced liquidation and a King and pawns endgame. While Praggnanandhaa may have found a winning continuation on another day, luck favored Gukesh, and the game ended in a draw.All five games in the ten-player double round-robin tournament ended in draws for the first time in three days. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave came close to victory against Alireza Firouzja in a Berlin defense game, but a late error allowed Firouzja to escape with a draw.The lead positions remained unchanged, with Gukesh and Fabiano Caruana of the United States sharing the top spot with two points each. Vachier-Lagrave, Praggnanandhaa, Firouzja, Wesley So, Giri, and Nepomniachtchi trail with 1.5 points apiece.Dutchman Anish Giri drew on his 30th birthday against Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, while Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania held off Wesley So in a slightly worse endgame.