World champion D Gukesh survived some anxious moments in the early middle game before finally drawing with Hans Moke Niemann of the United States in the first round of the masters section of the Prague International Chess Festival here. The Berlin defense that went wrong for white could be a perfect heading for the encounter between the world champion and Niemann, who is walking his way to the elite chess circles after being indirectly accused of foul play.

It may be recalled that the American infamously won a game against world number one Magnus Carlsen, which will now be documented in a forthcoming Netflix series. Niemann came all guns blazing and sacrificed a piece with black piece as early as on move 13 to put Gukesh on the back foot despite having the white pieces. The Indian was down but not out which he proved as the game progressed, and even though, black seemed like pushing for more with his extra pawns in exchange for the sacrificed knight, Gukesh ensured that he stayed in the game.