India, Feb. 2 -- In a significant blow to his aspirations at the Tata Steel Masters, D Gukesh ended in a draw against GM Jorden van Foreest following a complex endgame involving heavy pieces. In contrast, R Praggnanandhaa secured a victory over Alexey Sarana, allowing him to ascend the rankings and share the lead with his compatriot Gukesh. Conversely, Nodirbek Abdusattor, who was tied on points with Praggnanandhaa, suffered a defeat against Arjun Erigaisi, who achieved his first win of the tournament.

Prior to his victory against the Uzbek grandmaster, Erigaisi had not won any matches in Wijk aan Zee this year, accumulating seven draws and four losses. He currently stands in 12th place with 4.5 points. Meanwhile, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa are tied for the lead with 8.5 points each.

Erigaisi's win also marked the end of a 24-game winless streak in the tournament. Although he is not in contention for the title, his performance could significantly influence the outcome between D Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa. In the final round on Sunday, Erigaisi will face Gukesh with the black pieces, while Praggnanandhaa will compete against Vincent Keymer. The results of these matches will determine the tournament champion.

After his draw with Foreest, Gukesh was inquired whether he was monitoring the games of Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattor. He responded, "A bit, but mostly I was just focused on my game. It was evident that Abdusattor had made an error, and Praggnanandhaa was in control from the outset."

Regarding his upcoming match against Arjun, he remarked, "Quite nice, I am already pleased today that I managed to escape this game, but everything is set up for an exciting finish. I will simply try to enjoy it."

This result has also propelled Gukesh to the position of World No. 3 in the live ELO ratings. The FIDE ratings have yet to be updated, with Gukesh holding a rating of 2791.9, placing him behind Magnus Carlsen (2833.0) and Hikaru Nakamura (2802.0). Fabiano Caruano (2790.2) is in fourth place, while Nodirbek ranks fifth with a rating of 2774.0.

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