Praggnanandhaa crushes Mendonca to jump into lead

R Praggnanandhaa

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa crashed through the defences of fellow Indian Leon Luke Mendonca to jump into sole lead after the fourth round of the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament here.

Praggnanandhaa started off with an innocuous Ruy Lopez closed but found his chances in the middle game when Mendonca, clearly being the rookie here, could not handle the pressure of another high-profile game. It was another day when Praggnanandhaa found the fire to score his third win on the trot after 46 moves.

All of Praggnanandhaa's victories have come at the expense of the Indians so far in the tournament, with the GM now looking forward to the clash against world champion D Gukesh. With his third win, the Chennai-based player has stamped his authority ahead of the first rest day.

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