World Champion D Gukesh is not overly concerned with the standings, even after securing the solo lead at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands, following his victory over Leon Luke Mendonca in the ninth round. The 18-year-old, who is the youngest world champion, successfully breached Mendonca's defences in a match that spanned 43 moves.

Following the match, Gukesh expressed satisfaction with his performance. "I am pleased with how I played today, and with four rounds remaining, I am not focusing too much on the standings. I am simply content with my play," Gukesh remarked after the game.

With this victory, Gukesh has accumulated 6.5 points out of a possible nine, placing him ahead of Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Russian-turned-Slovenian Fedoseev, both of whom have 6 points.

Praggnanadhaa, with 5.5 points, shares the fourth position, and it remains to be seen whether his situation will improve.

This victory holds particular significance from an Indian perspective, especially as it occurred on a day when R Praggnanandhaa suffered his first defeat against Dutch GM Anish Giri, while veteran P Harikrishna also faced challenges, losing to Russian-turned-Slovenian Vladimir Fedoseev.

Gukesh was also inquired about whether he monitors other games while playing, depending on his match, and how he manages this. The Grandmaster indicated that he could not focus much on Praggnanandhaa's game.

"When engaged in a match, it requires considerable time. You typically move around. In that regard, I was observing the other games," stated the 18-year-old from Chennai.

"I wasn't specifically concentrating on Bragg's game since they were co-leading. However, I was looking at all the games. It also depends on whether the position is particularly complex and you are uncertain about what is occurring, in which case you tend to concentrate more," he added.

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