Karthikeyan, Abhimanyu, Leon, Prraneeth in joint lead with Nepomniachtchi

by Devansh Singh - 05/05/2026

After completion of the 2nd round at the Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026, Murali Karthikeyan, Leon Luke Mendonca, Abhimanyu Puranik, Prraneeth Vuppala, and Muthaiah Al are on perfect 2/2 points, and co-leading with top-seeded Ian Nepomniachtchi. In the second round, Nepo won his game against Jaidambareesh N R of India. There were only two draws on the top 18 boards, where Edwin Van Haastert drew against the 5th-seeded Frederik Svane and Aaron Jacobson drew against Aditya Mittal. There are 2 rounds on the 3rd day, and now the games are going to get intense. Round 3 will start on 5th May at 9:30 PM CET/ 1 PM IST. Photos: FT Niklesh Jain

Double rounds on 5th May

The tournament is getting intense now, as after two days of single rounds, on the 5th day, 2 rounds will be played, and after the 3rd day, the tournament leaders will be clear. This is the only day in the tournament with double rounds, and it is going to test the stamina and willpower of players.

Jaidambareesh N R vs Ian Nepomniachtchi (0-1)

Rudy Van Wessel vs Ivan Saric (0-1)

Tournament Director GM Roberto Mogranzini made the ceremonial first move on Board 3 to honor all Indian participants in the game between GM Murali Kartikeyan and Pavel Jirasek.

Murali Karthikeyan vs Pavel Jirasek (1-0)

IM Faustino Oro drew against Adharsh K of India

Savitha Shri is on 1.5/2 points

Abhimanyu won 2 games in a row

GM Aditya Mittal drew against IM Aaron Jacobson

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Round 2 Results

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	45	FM	Jaidambareesh, N R	2373	1	0 - 1	1	GM	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	2729	1	PGN
2	46	IM	Van Wessel, Rudy	2371	1	0 - 1	1	GM	Saric, Ivan	2657	3	PGN
3	4	GM	Karthikeyan, Murali	2648	1	1 - 0	1	FM	Jirasek, Pavel	2371	47	PGN
4	48	IM	Van Haastert, Edwin	2369	1	½ - ½	1	GM	Svane, Frederik	2645	5	PGN
5	6	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	2636	1	1 - 0	1	IM	Vantika, Agrawal	2367	49	PGN
6	51	IM	Jacobson, Aaron	2364	1	½ - ½	1	GM	Aditya, Mittal	2619	7	PGN
7	8	GM	Mendonca, Leon Luke	2613	1	1 - 0	1	FM	Adithya, A Chullikkad	2358	55	PGN
8	52	IM	Lortkipanidze, Nodar	2363	1	0 - 1	1	GM	Puranik, Abhimanyu	2607	9	PGN
9	10	GM	Dardha, Daniel	2602	1	1 - 0	1	FM	Negrean, Andrei	2353	57	PGN
10	54	IM	Skytte, Rasmus	2358	1	0 - 1	1	GM	Idani, Pouya	2594	11	PGN

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Round 3 Pairings

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	1	GM	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	2729	2		2	GM	Sokolovsky, Yahli	2564	16
2	3	GM	Saric, Ivan	2657	2		2	GM	Zeng, Chongsheng	2557	18
3	20	GM	Yilmaz, Mustafa	2549	2		2	GM	Karthikeyan, Murali	2648	4
4	21	IM	Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid	2534	2		2	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	2636	6
5	24	GM	Prraneeth, Vuppala	2515	2		2	GM	Mendonca, Leon Luke	2613	8
6	9	GM	Puranik, Abhimanyu	2607	2		2	IM	Ilinca, Felix-Antonio	2486	28
7	33	IM	Song, Yuxin	2462	2		2	GM	Dardha, Daniel	2602	10
8	11	GM	Idani, Pouya	2594	2		2	IM	Kuru, Atilla	2464	32
9	35	IM	Sai, Krishna G V	2443	2		2	GM	Jacobson, Brandon	2594	12
10	13	GM	Lodici, Lorenzo	2590	2		2	IM	Muthaiah, Al	2448	34