The 8th round battle at Tata Steel Chess Masters 2025 between Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and world champion D Gukesh ended in a draw after a tense and interesting fight at Wijk aan Zee in Netherlands yesterday. Both players continue to lead, having 5.5/8 points each. Playing the white side of a Berlin defence, Praggnanadhaa had a slightly favourable position optically but Gukesh was always on guard to defend.

In another match, India’s top-ranked chess player Arjun Erigaisi accepted a draw against Serbian Grandmaster Alexey Sarana. Arjun was playing with white pieces but the game ended in just 23 moves.