Overview

• Parham Maghsoodloo defeated Alireza Firouzja with Black in round three to become the only player on 3/3 in Samarkand.
• World champion D. Gukesh beat Daniil Yuffa with Black to move to 2.5/3 and into the chasing group behind the leader.
• India’s Arjun Erigaisi and R. Praggnanandhaa also won in round three to join the 2.5-point pack.
• In the women’s event, defending champion R. Vaishali reached 3/3 by beating Olga Badelka to take sole lead.
• A viral video of Nodirbek Abdusattorov predicting Gukesh will lose his title drew a light touch from Viswanathan Anand and a measured reply from Gukesh.