Drama Unfolds at Candidates Chess Tournament

In a pivotal moment at the Candidates chess tournament, Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa found himself in a challenging situation after a defeat by Anish Giri of the Netherlands. This loss, in the eighth round, brings Praggnanandhaa's chances of finishing in the top places into question.

Uzbek player Javokhir Sindarov consolidated his lead, drawing with Andrey Esipenko of Russia, and now holds 6.5 points, leading by two points. The tournament, with a $700,000 prize, will determine the challenger for the world champion D Gukesh.

In other key matches, Hikaru Nakamura toppled fellow American Fabiano Caruana, while in the women's section, R Vaishali drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva, and Kateryna Lagno secured a victory to match Vaishali's 4.5 points.