Prague, March 5

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated overnight sole leader Nodirbek Abdusattarov of Uzbekistan to stake his claim for the top honours at the Prague Masters here.

Winning with black pieces, Praggnanandhaa came within striking distance of the sole leader in the 10-player round-robin event that still has three rounds remaining.

Things worked out even better for Praggnanandhaa as the second-placed Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran went down to Nguyen Thai Dai Van of the Czech Republic.

As a result, Abdusattarov continued to rule the roost with four points. He is now followed by Praggnanandhaa, Richard Rapport of Romania and Maghsoodloo, who all have 3.5 points apiece.