Indians had a fabulous Friday in Round 11 of Tata Steel Masters, with all five competitors posting impressive results at Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. The highlight of the round was R Praggnanandhaa's stunning win over World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana with black pieces.

Two other Indians - Pentala Harikrishna and Leon Luke Mendonca - also secured their wins with black pieces. Meanwhile, D Gukesh continued his unbeaten run in the event with a draw against Wei Yi of China to remain on top of the points table with 8 points. Gukesh has not lost a game since becoming the youngest World Chess Champion last December.

For Mendonca, the lowest-rated (2639) Indian in the Masters section, a stunning point against Vladimir Fedoseev gave him a first win in the event. Harikrishna was back in his elements, with a win over Alexey Sarana to take his tally to 5.5 points. Arjun Erigaisi is still searching for his first win but secured a morale-boosting draw with black against Jorden van Foreest.

The best of the lot was India No. 3 Praggnanandhaa, who turned an even game into his favour by unleashing a barrage on Caruana's King castled queenside. The American defended deep until Praggnanandhaa found a chink in the armour and sent a rogue knight to carve it open.

Caruana fought a little further, trying a last trick by giving up a knight to divert Praggnanandhaa's attention from delivering a potential checkmate. Still, the young Indian was not swayed and kept his composure to force Caruana into resigning after 37 moves. The 19-year-old from Chennai is back in the top three with 7.5 points.

Two more rounds remain in the league phase before the knockouts. Gukesh has black against Foreest, while Praggnanandhaa will make the first move against Sarana in round 12, which will be held on Saturday.

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.