Gukesh climbs to joint second at Grand Chess Tour Zagreb

World champion D Gukesh recovered from an early setback to finish the second day of the Grand Chess Tour's Zagreb leg in joint second place after six rounds of the rapid event on Friday.

The Indian Grandmaster defeated Dutch player Anish Giri in the final game of the day, taking his tally to seven points. He now shares second place with Germany's Vincent Keymer, France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Romania's Bogdan-Daniel Deac.

Alireza Firouzja continued to dominate the field, extending his lead to 10 points from a possible 12. The French Grandmaster holds a three-point advantage over the chasing pack heading into the final three rounds of the rapid section.

Gukesh recovers after opening loss

Gukesh's day began with a defeat to Bogdan-Daniel Deac but the reigning world champion responded strongly by beating Jorden van Foreest before overcoming Giri in the final round.

Facing Giri with the white pieces, Gukesh opted for the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation and gradually built a strong attack. The Indian capitalised on his opponent's inaccuracies, won material and converted the advantage without allowing Giri a way back into the contest.

R Praggnanandhaa also endured mixed fortunes on day two. After opening the day with a victory over Van Foreest, the Indian lost to Nodirbek Abdusattorov before suffering another defeat against tournament leader Firouzja. Praggnanandhaa appeared to have secured a draw in the latter game but a late mistake in an otherwise drawn endgame proved costly.

With three rapid rounds remaining before the tournament shifts to the blitz format, Firouzja remains the favourite to top the standings.