Arjun Erigaisi's losing run was stemmed with a draw against compatriot Leon Luke Mendonca, while Pentala Harikrishna also opted for an early draw against Chinese GM Wei Yi. The big surprise of Round 5 was Vladimir Fedoseev's shock win over Fabiano Caruana, which drew him level with Gukesh on 3.5 points.

With his second victory in the event, the Indian also climbed to fourth spot in world rankings in live rating, overtaking compatriot Arjun Erigaisi, who played out a draw with Leon Luke Mendonca.

Gukesh, playing with white pieces, controlled the game from the start against Keymer, opting for the Nimzo-Indian Defense.

World Champion D Gukesh needed six hours to draw, while R Praggnanandhaa took the sole lead overall with 3.5/4

It’s something of a rite of passage in chess — the new champ is a marked man when he first returns to the board. Indian teenager Dommaraju Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion ever when he dethroned Chinese GM Deng Liren in their December title match,