7/31/2019 – India's wunderkind 13-year-old GM R Praggnanandhaa started out Xtracon Open 2019 as the 21st seed, scored an unbeaten 8½/10 at a performance rating of 2741, to win the tournament convincingly. He finished a half point ahead of the pack of five players who were all higher rated than him. Norwegian no.3 GM Aryan Tari scored 8.0/10 and finished 2nd, while Armenian GM Gabriel Sargissian finished 3rd according to their tie-break scores respectively.
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The Alapin Variation (1.e4 c5 2.c3) offers a simple yet highly effective solution to all major Sicilian lines, by sidestepping them with 2.c3.
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'Golden Siblings' of India in Denmark
Praggnanandhaa made a hard fought draw in the last round against GM Samuel Sevian of USA in marathon game of 73 moves where the majority of the game was an endgame. Pragg was worse throughout the game and showed some fantastic defensive skills to hold a nearly lost queen ending. This crucial half point helped him to win the biggest tournament of his chess career.
Pragg showed his indomitable spirit in the final round, fought hard to secure a draw | Photo: Xtracon official site
The 'Golden Siblings' of India, WGM R Vaishali (left) and GM R Praggnanandhaa (right) along with their mother Nagalakshmi (centre) | Photo: Amruta Mokal
IM Sagar Shah interviews Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali at the conclusion of the tournament
With a performance of 2741, Pragg delivered his career best
Pragg's first big win came against GM Anton Korobov in round six. In a game arising out of Nimzo-Indian Defence, it seemed equal even util the liquidation into a same-color bishop ending. However, Korobov made an unforced error.
This DVD provides everything you need to know to be able to play one of the most classical openings with Black, the Nimzo-Indian, arising after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4. Nearly every World Championship and top tournament features the Nimzo-Indian.
Here is the entire game annotated by IM Sagar Shah:
Pragg en route his victory against Vocaturo | Photo: Xtracon official site
In round seven, Pragg defeated Italy's no.1 GM Daniele Vocaturo. Pragg played the Sicilian Maroczy Bind and won his game with ease.
The Maroczy System of the Sicilian Defence is one of the modern openings where Black attacks the white centre mainly with pieces. After the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 the pawns c4 and e4 secure White a space advantage in the middle, however, it is exactly these central pillars which may easily become targets of the black counterattack. Sergei Tiviakov has been applying this system with Black in his tournament practice since 1991 and is considered one its greatest experts.
In round nine, Pragg defeated the silver medalist GM Murali Karthikeyan in the recently concluded Asian Continental 2019.
Pragg opts for 1.Nf3 against Murali | Photo: Xtracon official site
Here are a few video analysis of Pragg's games by IM Sagar Shah:
Korobov vs Pragg, round 6
Pragg vs Vocaturo, round 7
Pragg vs Murali, round 9
Aryan Tari should have gone all-in in the last round against Allan Stig | Photo: Xtracon official site
This was the chance Tari needed to take which could have made him the champion. Find the winning continuation for white. The only reason he might have not continued with the attack could be that he was low on time, even then the knight sacrifice needed to be justified.
Generally in a Swiss league tournament, it is almost rare to see a battle between the eventual champion and a runner-up of the tournament. However, Xtracon 2019 witnessed the battle between Pragg and Tari in as early as round five.
Pragg vs Tari was definitely as expected | Photo: Xtracon official site
3rd seed Gabriel Sargissian of Armenia finished in 3rd place | Photo: Xtracon official site
Here is Pragg's final round game against Samuel Sevian:
In round 3, Vaishali defeated Sevian with some sharp play in a complex game.
The move 26.e5 was played on intuition
Vaishali became over ambitious and played 30.f5, however there was a better move for white. Can you find it?
When you get a position like that, you know that you have to bring the full point home.
In round 6, Vaishali beat Johan Salomon (2514) of Norway, however she missed a simpler win.
Norwegian GM Johan Solomon (2514) was Vaishali's second victim among the GMs | Photo: Xtracon official site
Here Black opted for 32...Qd3. However, there was a continuation for Black which could have led to a quicker finish. Can you find it?
In the final round, Vaishali was in a must-win situation to secure her maiden GM-norm.
Photo Gallery
The Norm makers | Photo: Xtracon official site
GM-norms: WGM R Vaishali and IM Kassa Korley IM-norms: FM Jonas Roseneck, FM Anders Hobber and CM Bharath Subramaniyam H (although Bharath has already fulfilled all requirements to become an IM) WGM-norm: WIM Elena Tomilova WIM-norm: Monika Machlik
IM Kassa Korley (DEN) poses with the latest New in Chess magazine gifted by the organizers | Photo: Xtracon official site
Final standings on display through a projector | Photo: Xtracon official site
Team India bonding together at the prize giving | Photo: Xtracon official site
Shahid AhmedShahid Ahmed is the senior coordinator and editor of ChessBase India. He enjoys covering chess tournaments and also likes to play in chess events from time to time.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
Opening videos: Sipke Ernst brings the Ulvestad Variation up to date + Part II of ‘Mikhalchishin's Miniatures’. Special: Jan Werle shows highlights from the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in the video. ‘Lucky bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth et al.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of King’s Indian and Pirc structures with colours reversed, often arising from the French or Sicilian.
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