While the mind games will go on in the last two games and a potential tiebreaker, American Hikaru Nakamura and world number one Magnus Carlsen feel that the balance had tilted slightly in Ding Liren's favour.
Gukesh will have to carry with him the tag of world champion and along with it loads of expectations and increased scrutiny. But the 19-year-old is prepared to stand in the limelight.
Three of the four Indian Open team players are in line for gold and silver medals for the individual performance.
At the world championship, players have two hours each to play the first 40 moves, with 30 minutes being added to reach move 60, before 15 minutes are added with a 30-second increment per move being then granted.
With five points in his kitty from eight games, D Gukesh jointly leads the standings with Anish Giri of Holland.
It's been seven years since a chess player got the Arjuna award and the iconic Viswanathan Anand is hoping that India's triumphant campaign at the online Chess Olympiad will change this when the national sporting honours are announced next year.
Gukesh had a fine run, beating Constantin Lupulescu and Saric after drawing with Richard Rapport in the day's first game.
Carlsen was fined $ 200 for wearing jeans, which are "explicitly prohibited" under tournament regulations
With this win Praggnanandhaa also added some more spice to the tale around the highest rated Indian as he again overtook Viswanathan Anand in live rating to clinch the top spot in the country.
Magnus Carlsen of Norway feels that on current form Indian star D Gukesh is the favourite to win the World Chess Championship
As per the Ministry sources, a special request was made by the BCCI to the sports ministry to include Shami's name as he didn't originally feature in the list of the country's second-highest sporting honour.
Gukesh faced the in-vogue Italian opening as black against Caruana and the players battled it out in the main variation.
Chess has applied for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a final decision is expected to come next summer.
Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi crashed through the defences of world number three Hikaru Nakamura of United States, while R Praggnanandhaa went down to compatriot D Gukesh in the second round of Candidates chess tournament in Toronto.
He also went on to laud the 18-year-old Indian grandmaster and explained why he was taking more time initially in the game.
He was a storyteller who made me feel the pulse of history, the stakes of human ambition, and the thrill of a well-told tale. Prem Panicker recalls his debt to Frederick Forsyth, who passed away on Monday.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen was in stunning form, winning all nine of his games to take a significant lead. He has 20 points out of a possible 27 going into the second half of the blitz on Sunday.
Praggnanandhaa blundered for the second day running and lost to Richard Rapport of Romania in the third round
With seven rounds still to come in the first super tournament of the year, Anish Guru maintained his sole lead on 4.5 points out of a possible six and he is now trailed by Iranian turned Frenchman Firouza Alireza who is on 4 points.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa advanced to the Chess World Cup final after outclassing Fabiano Caruana in the semi-finals in Baku.
India's woman Grandmaster Koneru Humpy said there wasn't enough encouragement for women to take up chess in the country.
Magnus Carlsen of SG Alpine Warriors defeated Viswanathan Anand and launched his team to the top of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in Dubai on Wednesday.
Indian chess diva Tania Sachdev holds forth on women in the sport.
The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver.
The 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster earned India its first gold at the Asian Games, winning the women's rapid tournament.
American Hans Niemann filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen and Chess.com in October 2022 after the allegations that he had cheated.
Known to be very competitive, Gukesh said the approach will not change even though he needs three draws from the remaining three games.
Vidit Gujrathi also put an end to his losses by settling for a draw with Caruana.
Mansukh Mandaviya pitches for kho kho's inclusion in Asian Games, 2036 Olympics
Olympic medallists Manu Bhaker and Mirabai Chanu have joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to combat obesity, emphasizing the importance of healthy lifestyle choices.
Arguably one of the greatest ever chess players, Garry Kasparov feels that Magnus Carlsen has the necessary arsenal to beat five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand in their World Championship clash that will commence in Chennai on Saturday.
This is Koneru Humpy's second World Rapid title after she had triumphed in the 2019 edition in Moscow.
'It is surprising that Pakistan has suddenly taken the decision of not participating in the FIDE Chess Olympiad, particularly after the team has already reached India'.
Gukesh, Liren eye breakthrough after series of draws in the Chess World C'ship.
India continues to occupy the second spot with 9 match points (2 match points for a win and 1 for a draw) behind Iran (10 MPs).
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa scored his second victory on the trot, outwitting Vincent Keymer of Germany to join compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram at the top on three points after the end of the fourth round of the Prague Masters.
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has a word of advice for World Championship contender D Gukesh ahead of his clash against China's Ding Liren -- just focus on your preparation and don't count yourself as a "huge favourite" going into the title showdown.
14 young Indian chess players including D Gukesh, the world's second youngest Grand Master, and R Praggnanandhaa will be coached by former World champion Vladimir Kramnik at a 10-day camp, in Chennai, from January 8. The camp, the second organised by Microsense, will also see Boris Gelfand, a former World title challenger, impart training to the Indian players.
Gujrathi faced a reverse at the hands of his Kazakh opponent.
The 17-year-old Gukesh is in joint lead with Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi.
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