Displaying irrepressible form, R. Praggnanandhaa took a half-point lead after 10 rounds of the 19-round Polgar Challenge, the first leg of the online Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour on Friday.
Praggnanandhaa, winner of the last four rounds on Thursday, added four straight points on Friday before taking a draw to lead with 8.5 points.
Top seed Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) and Christopher Yoo (USA), who shared the lead with the third-seeded Indian on Thursday, were in the second spot. D. Gukesh and Nihal Sarin shared the fourth spot with seven points.