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Fabiano Caruana maintained his six-point advantage over Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in the title match of the Grand Chess Tour Finals after surviving a long second classical game on Wednesday. Their 95-move draw left the defending champion ahead 9-3 going into Thursday's concluding rapid and blitz section.
After losing the opening classical encounter, Praggnanandhaa had an opportunity to cut the deficit substantially, with a classical victory worth six points. Playing White, he opted for the sharp 11.Bf1, an idea seen before in the opening but one that delays kingside castling.
Pragg initially obtained promising chances before allowing much of his advantage to disappear. The game later developed into an opposite-coloured bishop ending with rooks still on the board, where White once again had realistic winning prospects.
The position demanded considerable accuracy, however, and Pragg let several opportunities pass. Caruana defended for five and a half hours and eventually secured the draw.
The title will be decided on Thursday, when the players contest two rapid games followed by four blitz games. The final session begins at 19.00 CEST. With 4 points available for each rapid victory and 2 for each blitz win, Pragg still has enough points available to overturn the deficit.
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Fabiano Caruana battled for more than five hours | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Discussing lines after a marathon struggle | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The second classical game between Wesley So and Vincent Keymer was considerably shorter. So, playing white, simplified at the first opportunity, exchanging queens early and continuing to trade pieces until the draw became straightforward.
Keymer had prepared for the possibility of So testing his Berlin Defence, but the game instead entered a Marshall variation of the Ruy Lopez. Once the queens came off, the remaining play proceeded quickly, and at one stage Keymer had accumulated more time on his clock than he had at the start of the game.
With both classical encounters drawn, the tournament regulations called for a bonus blitz game at a 5+2 time control, with 2 additional points at stake. The players again entered a Ruy Lopez, though this time the queens remained on the board for longer and the contest was more substantial.
Neither player established a clear advantage before the game simplified into a king-and-pawn ending. Under time pressure, however, So went wrong with 41.h4??, allowing Keymer to seize the opposition and convert his resulting advantage.
Instead of pushing his h-pawn to the fourth rank, So would have kept the balance with 41.h3, 41.Kf3 or 41.Ke3. After the text move, there followed 41...Kf6 42.Kg4 Kg6 43.Kf4 Kf6 44.Kg4 Ke5, making use of the opposition.
If White goes for the h-pawn at once with 45.Kh5, Black will win the pawn race. There followed 45.Kf3 d5 46.exd5 Kxd5 47.Ke3 Ke5, as Keymer keeps the opposition.
48.Kf3 h5 49.Ke3 Kf5 50.c4 (50.Kd3 fails to 50...c4+ 51.Kd4 Kg4) bxc4 51.Kd2 Kg4 52.Kc3, and Black is too quick on the kingside.
The bonus victory gives Keymer an 8-6 lead before Thursday's final session. The third-place match remains important because its winner will earn automatic entry to the 2027 Grand Chess Tour. Like the title match, it will conclude with two rapid games and four blitz games.
Vincent Keymer | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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