Zagreb (Croatia): Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa produced an aggressive display to defeat top seed Vincent Keymer of Germany, starting his campaign on a positive note in the Zagreb leg of the Grand Chess Tour here.
Fresh from winning the Norway Chess tournament, Praggnanandhaa launched a relentless attack against Keymer in what could be remembered as a masterclass.
The power of the white pieces was on full display as the Indian grandmaster unleashed his forces against his opponent's king, securing victory and two points in just 26 moves.
In the second round of the day, he settled for a draw with France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who had begun the event with a finely crafted victory over World Champion D Gukesh.
For Gukesh, the rhythm is still missing, possibly because the youngest-ever world champion is already focusing on his upcoming World Championship match against Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan.
The loss to Vachier-Lagrave, however, did not affect him much, as Gukesh bounced back with a victory over Croatia's Ivan Saric.
While he was outplayed in the opening round, Gukesh showcased his defensive skills in the second game, successfully neutralising an attack on his king before turning the tables on Saric.
France's Alireza Firouzja emerged as the sole leader of the tournament after winning both his opening-round games. After defeating Saric in the first round, Firouzja, playing with the black pieces, overcame Romania's Bogdan-Daniel Deac in the second.
With each rapid victory worth two points, Firouzja moved to the top of the standings with four points. He is followed by Praggnanandhaa, Vachier-Lagrave and Anish Giri of the Netherlands, who all have three points from two games.
Gukesh and Keymer are next with two points each, alongside Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov, while Deac has one point from his two games. Jorden van Foreest and Saric are yet to open their accounts.