India, July 17 -- Nihal Sarin slapped a hand on his forehead as his buddy and reigning world champion D Gukesh, sitting across from him broke into a smile. Nihal was ruing a missed chance while Gukesh was relieved to have gotten away with a draw. These were scenes from the end of Round 1 of the Chennai Grand Masters on Wednesday.

Three of the day's four games ended in draws while the only decisive result was the one between Alireza Firouzja and Pranesh M, which the French-Iranian Grandmaster won to take an early lead in the tournament.

Incidentally, it was by winning this tournament three years ago that Gukesh qualified for the Candidates. This is his first tournament appearance in his hometown, Chennai, since he turned world champion t...