Bengaluru, April 10 -- In a topsy-turvy encounter that saw both players miss winning chances, Arjun Erigaisi and Hikaru Nakamura drew their first quarterfinal game in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. They will play their second classical game on Thursday and Arjun will have the Black pieces. In case of another draw, the winner will be determined in a playoff.
The lone Indian to make the knockouts, Arjun, playing White, was a pawn up and his position looked promising out of the opening. Nakamura pinned his miserable plight early in the game to Ian Nepomniachtchi's suggestion in the pre-game huddle.
"I was probably lost out of the opening," Nakamura said, "I guess the moral of the story is never trust a Russian.Nepo sai...