India, Dec. 15 -- D Gukesh, the 19-year-old reigning classical world champion, walked into the Royal Opera House on Sunday evening to chants of "Gukesh, Gukesh, Gukesh" from fans who had assembled at the city's cultural heritage spot to catch a glimpse of the country's chess star.

Seated inside the theatre turned chess arena for the Global Chess League (GCL), Gukesh glanced around for a few seconds ahead of his game in what was a new setting for the young Indian to ply his trade.

The world champion's opening act in the third season of the GCL, held in India for the first time, ended in a draw with Hikaru Nakamura. The Indian, 10th in the FIDE rankings currently, played out a 34-move draw with the world No.2 American.

Gukesh's team, PBG...