Meltwater Finals: Pragg scores 3-0 win, Duda and Carlsen still perfect

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
11/17/2022 – All four matches in round 3 of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals lasted three games, as Magnus Carlsen, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Wesley So and Praggnanandhaa all secured clear victories which granted them 3 match points for the standings. Carlsen and Duda continue to share the lead, now no fewer than 5 points ahead of their closest chasers.

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A convincing victory for Pragg

Round 2’s loss against Anish Giri was rather painful for Praggnanandhaa, who had kicked off that match with back-to-back wins before seeing his opponent bounce back and win the tiebreaker. However, at 17, Pragg is quick to recover, as he now got a clear 3-0 victory over Le Quang Liem in the very next round.

Pragg is thus one of four players sharing third place on 4/9 match points, no fewer than 5 points behind Magnus Carlsen and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who won all three of their encounters without going to tiebreaks in any of them.

In the first game against Le, Pragg dealt with his rival’s tricky attacking manoeuvres to make the most of his superior position.

 
Praggnanandhaa vs. Le - Game #1

After Le’s sneaky 24...Qc1, grabbing the black queen with 25.Rxc1 fails to 25...Rxc1+ 26.Kh2 Nf1+ 27.Kg1 and the game will end in a draw by repetition.

However, fortunately for Pragg, this is not draughts, so he was not forced to capture the queen. The youngster went for 25.Qb8+ Kf7 26.Qxb7+ Ke8 27.Nxg7+ Kf8 and 28.Nxe6+ makes use of the queen being en prise on the first rank.

 

After grabbing a number of pawns, Pragg carefully transferred his queen to h5, defending the rook on d1. The Indian did not have trouble converting his advantage into a win from that point on. 

 
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1.d4 0 Nf6 0 2.c4 2 e6 2 3.Nc3 0 Bb4 2 4.e3 0 0-0 2 5.Nf3 1 c5 33 6.Bd3 9 d5 6 7.cxd5 4 exd5 5 E53: Nimzo-Indian: Rubinstein: Main Line (4...0-0 5 Nf3 d5 6 Bd3 c5 7 0-0). 8.dxc5! 1 Nbd7 3 9.0-0 6 9.Qb3 Qa5 9...Nxc5 0 The position is equal. 10.Ne2 5 Nxd3 45 11.Qxd3 3
11...Be6N 0 Predecessor: 11...Bg4 12.Nfd4 Bxe2 13.Nxe2 Rc8 14.Bd2 Bxd2 15.Qxd2 Qb6 16.Rac1 g6 17.b3 Rfd8 ½-½ (45) Harikrishna,P (2732)-Duda,J (2753) Warsaw 2020 12.b3 46 Qe7 39 13.Bb2 7 Ba3 0 14.Bxa3 2:32 Qxa3 0 15.h3 1:27 Rac8 18 16.Nf4 15 Qa5 2:39 17.Ng5 2:41 Rc6 2:14 Black is now going downhill. 18.Rac1 1:14 Rfc8 55 19.Rxc6 26 White is more active. Rxc6 0
20.Nh5! 1:00       Nxf6+ is the strong threat. Ne4 4:11
21.Qd4! 10       White attacks with force. Qc3 11 Hoping for ...Qxd4. 22.Nxe6 8 Really sharp! fxe6 0 23.Qxa7 1 Nd2 58 23...g6± 24.Rd1+- 1:07 Qc1 10
24...Ne4 25.Qxb7 Rc7 25.Qb8+ 16 25.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 26.Kh2 Nf1+ 27.Kh1 Nd2+ 28.Kh2 Nf1+ 29.Kh1 Nd2+ 30.Kh2= 25.Kh2! Qxd1 26.Qb8+ Kf7 27.Qxb7+ Ke8 28.Qxc6+ Kd8 29.Qd6+ Kc8 30.Qxe6+ Kb7 31.Qxd5+ Kb6 32.Qd6+ Kb7 33.Qd7+ Kb6 34.Qd6+ Kb7 35.Qe7+ Ka6 36.Qe6+ Kb7 37.Qd5+ Kb6 38.Qe6+ Ka7 39.Qd7+ Kb6 40.Qe6+ Kc7 41.g4 Nf3+ 42.Kg3 25...Kf7? 1 25...Rc8 was worth a try. 26.Rxc1 Rxb8 26.Qxb7+ 11 26.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 27.Kh2 Nf1+ 28.Kh1 Nd2+ 29.Kh2 Nf1+ 30.Kh1 Nd2+ 31.Kh2= 26...Ke8? 0 26...Rc7 27.Rxc1 Rxb7 27.Nxg7+ 28 27.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 28.Kh2 Nf1+ 29.Kh1 Nd2+ 30.Kh2 Nf1+ 31.Kh1 Nd2+ 32.Kh2= 27...Kf8 3 28.Nxe6+ 40 28.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 29.Kh2 Nf1+ 30.Kh1 Nd2+ 31.Kh2 Nf1+ 32.Kh1 Nd2+ 33.Kh2= 28...Ke8 1 29.Ng7+ 2:07 29.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 30.Kh2 Nf1+ 31.Kh1 Nd2+ 32.Kh2 Nf1+ 33.Kh1 Nd2+ 34.Kh2= 29...Kd8 16 30.Qa8+ 56 30.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 31.Kh2 Nf1+ 32.Kh1 Nd2+ 33.Kh2 Nf1+ 34.Kh1 Nd2+ 35.Kh2= 30...Kd7 32 31.Qe8+ 13 Weaker is 31.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 32.Kh2 Nf1+ 33.Kh1 Nd2+ 34.Kh2 Nf1+ 35.Kh1 Nd2+ 36.Kh2= 31...Kc7 1 32.Qh5 34 32.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 33.Kh2 Nf1+ 34.Kh1 Nd2+ 35.Kh2 Nf1+ 36.Kh1 Nd2+ 37.Kh2= 32...Qb2 56 33.Qe2 48 Rc1 7 34.Kh2 40 Black must now prevent Ne6+. Rxd1 2:28 35.Qxd1 2 Qxa2 7       Endgame KQN-KQN 36.Ne6+ 11 Kd6 4 37.Nf4 11 Inferior is 37.Qg4 Nf1+ 38.Kg1 Qb1= 37...d4 7 38.exd4 31 Nxb3 0 39.Qd3 16 Qxf2 3 40.Qxb3 5 White wants to mate with Qe6+. Qxf4+ 16 41.Qg3 1 Weighted Error Value: White=0.51/Black=0.65 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Praggnanandhaa R2678Le,Q27281–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.1
Le,Q2728Praggnanandhaa R26780–12022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.2
Praggnanandhaa R2678Le,Q27281–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.3
 

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Carlsen (also) wins three in a row

All four matches on Wednesday lasted three games, but only two of them saw the winner getting victories in all three games. Magnus Carlsen, much like Pragg, scored three wins in a row, in his case against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. The Norwegian also won twice with white.

In game 3, Carlsen caught Shakh’s queen in the middle of the board.

 
Carlsen vs. Mamedyarov - Game #3

17.f4 leaves the queen without squares to escape. Resignation came after 17...Nxe4 18.fxe5 Nxd2, as White’s advantage is overwhelming.

 
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1.Nf3 0 d5 0 2.g3 26 g6 5 3.Bg2 0 Bg7 2 4.d4 0 Nf6 2 5.0-0 1 0-0 4 6.c4 1 c6 1 7.Nc3 10 dxc4 4 8.e4 1 b5 1       8...Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Bxf3 e5 11.dxe5 Nfd7 12.e6 fxe6 13.Be3 Qe7 14.Bg2 Na6 15.Qe2 Nb4 16.Qxc4 Nc2 17.Nd5 cxd5 18.Qxc2 d4 19.Bd2 Rac8 20.Qb3 Nc5 1-0 (56) Carlsen,M (2864) -Mamedyarov,S (2759) Stavanger 2022 9.Qe2 5 D78: Fianchetto Grünfeld: 6 0-0 c6. a5 1 10.Rd1 9 Nbd7 17 11.d5 36 The position is equal. cxd5 0 12.e5 2 b4 1 13.exf6 2 Nxf6 0 14.Nb5 1
14...e6N 52 Predecessor: 14...Ba6 15.a4 Re8 16.Ne5 Bxb5 17.axb5 Qb6 18.Rxd5 Nxd5 19.Bxd5 e6 20.Bc6 c3 21.bxc3 1-0 (33) Mayrhuber,N (2101)-Weichhart,D (1949) Vienna 2022 15.a4 49 Ba6 38 16.Nfd4 0       Bxb5 4:11 17.axb5 16 Re8 1:23 17...a4= 18.b3! 0 White has more active pieces. cxb3 1:24 19.Ra4 0 Nd7 2:37 White leaves nothing to chance now. 19...Qb6! is superior. 20.Nxb3± 3 Nb6 4:59       21.Rxa5 1 Rxa5 0 22.Nxa5 1 White is clearly better. Na4 0 Hoping for ... Nc3. 23.Nc6! 0 Nc3 0 24.Qd3 10 Qb6 2 25.Re1 55       Threatens to win with Bf1. Inferior is 25.Nxb4 Nxd1 26.Qxd1 Qxb5 25...Qxb5 1:58 26.Qxb5 3 Nxb5 0 27.Bxd5 44 Bc3 2 28.Re2 5 Kg7 2 29.Bc4 38 Nd6 0 30.Bd3 9 Rc8 6
31.Na5 2 e5 19 32.Kg2 13 f5 1 33.Rc2 2:06 Kf6 34 34.Nb3 12 g5 0
34...Ra8 35.h4 Ke6 35.Ra2! 7 Weighted Error Value: White=0.01 (flawless) /Black=0.13 (very precise) 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2859Mamedyarov,S27411–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.1
Mamedyarov,S2741Carlsen,M28590–12022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.2
Carlsen,M2859Mamedyarov,S27411–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.3
 

Duda takes down Giri

Out of the two wins that Jan-Krzysztof Duda got with white over Anish Giri, certainly the second was the most spectacular. A series of sacrifices led to mate after the Dutchman played risky chess while already a point down on the scoreboard.

 
Duda vs. Giri - Game #3

It all started with the good-looking 28.Rg7+, as Duda had foreseen that after 28...Kxg7 there is no way for Black to prevent mate — in fact, there is mate-in-ten on the board.

The attack continued with 29.f6+ Kh6 30.Ng4+ Kg5, and it was the queen’s turn to be sacrificed! 31.Qf5+ is the killer blow.

 

31...Nxf5 32.Rxf5+ Kg6 (32...Kxg4 33.h3#, mating with a pawn) 33.Re5+ and Giri resigned.

 

After 33...Kg7 there is 34.Re7+ Kg8 35.Nh6+ Kh8 36.Rh7#, when it is clear that White’s light-squared bishop has been a lethal attacking weapon from the first rank.

 
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1.d4 0 Nf6 0 2.c4 3 e6 1 3.Nf3 1 d5 1 4.Nc3 1 Bb4 2 5.cxd5 4 exd5 1 6.Bg5 0 h6 13 7.Bh4 3 0-0 1 D38: Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defence (4 Nf3 Bb4). 8.e3 2 Bf5 2 9.Be2 2 Nbd7 20 The position is equal. 10.Qb3 6 Qe7 23 11.0-0 0 c6 42 12.a3 3 Bxc3 45 13.bxc3 0 b5 7 14.a4 1 a6 4
15.Ra3!?N 0       New and interesting. Predecessor: 15.Ra2 Qe6 16.Rfa1 Nb6 17.axb5 axb5 18.Ra6 Nfd7 19.h3 Rxa6 20.Rxa6 Ra8 21.Rxa8+ Nxa8 22.Bd8 Qe8 23.Ba5 Nab6 24.Qb4 Nc4 25.Bxc4 bxc4 26.Qb7 Qe6 ½-½ (26) Basso,P (2600)-Sunilduth Lyna,N (2658) Cattolica 2022 15...g5 3:55 16.Bg3 3 Ne4 1 17.axb5 1:46 17.Rfa1 17...axb5= 9 18.Rfa1 3 Rxa3 22 19.Qxa3 0 Qxa3 57 19...Re8 keeps more tension. 20.Qb4 h5 21.Ra6 h4 20.Rxa3 0 Rc8 50 21.Ne1 4:09 Nb6 30 22.f3 5:01 Nd2 11 23.Nd3 0 Na4 30 24.Nb4 7 Nb1 9 Pair of Knights! 25.Ra1 1 Nbxc3 1:12 26.Bf1 3 c5 2:35 26...f6= 27.dxc5 0 Nxc5 1 28.Be5 50 N5a4 0
29.Bxb5! 35       Remove Defender Nxb5 13 29...f6 30.Bxa4 30.Rxa4 7 Be6 0 31.Ra5 16 Nc3 1:28 32.Kf2 41 g4 6 33.Nd3 49 White is more active. gxf3 32 34.gxf3 0 34.Kxf3 Ne4 34...Nb1 20
34...Nd1+± 35.Ke2 Nc3+ 36.Ke1 Nb1 35.Ra1!+- 1:26 Bf5 34 36.Nf4 24 But not 36.Rxb1?! Bxd3 37.Rb6 Re8± 36...Rc2+ 1:06 36...Nc3 might work better. 37.Ra3 d4 37.Kg3 4 Nd2 0 38.Nxd5 4 Kh7? 8 38...Kf8 39.Bf4 h5 39.Ne7 36 f6? 1:15 39...Bc8 40.Kf4 Nc4 40.Bxf6 1:22 Weaker is 40.Nxf5 fxe5 41.Kg4 Rc7+- 40...Be4 50 41.Kf4 0 Weighted Error Value: White=0.10 (very precise) /Black=0.24 (precise) 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Duda,J2731Giri,A27641–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.1
Giri,A2764Duda,J2731½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.2
Duda,J2731Giri,A27641–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.3
 

So gets the better of Arjun

Two players who came from losing their first two matches faced off in round 3. Wesley So, who had lost against Carlsen and Le, prevailed in the end in his confrontation against Arjun Erigaisi. The Filipino-born grandmaster won games 2 and 3 for a 2½-½ victory.

In game 3, So knew that in a rare line of the Slav Defence, leaving his king in the centre was not a big problem for White going forward.

 
So vs. Arjun - Game #3

Here 8.Bd2 Bxd2+ 9.Qxd2 fails to 9...Ne4, and the knight on h4 will be captured by the queen. White can play 8.Ke2 though, getting a better position despite having lost the right to castle.

So never lost the thread from his advantageous position out of the opening, and went on to get a 50-move victory.

 
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1.e4 0 c5 0 2.Nf3 2 d6 0 3.Bb5+ 9 Nd7 2 4.a4 2 Ngf6 7 5.Nc3 2 g6 3 6.a5 2 Bg7 2 7.0-0 2 a6 2 8.Be2 10 0-0 3 9.d3 6 b5 24 10.axb6 2 Bb7 1:04 11.Nd2 26 Nxb6 17 12.Nb3 3 Ra7 0 13.Be3 21 e5 1:19 14.Qd2 17 Bc8 25 15.Na5 40 Qc7 1:02 16.Nc4 1:31 Nxc4 1:38 17.dxc4 0 Qc6 0 18.f3 1:22 Rd7 53 19.Ra3 19 Kh8 1:24 20.Rfa1 12 Nh5 17 21.Nd5 4 f5 12 22.c3 30 fxe4 0 23.fxe4 0 Nf4 2 24.b4 2:50 Rdf7 2:01 25.b5 26 axb5 0 26.cxb5 1 Qd7 1:10 27.Nb6 6:03 Qb7 0 28.Nxc8 9 Rxc8 14 29.Bc4 1:02 Rff8 21 30.Qc2 33 Qd7 1:14 31.Kh1 48 Qg4 1:01 32.Ra7 31 h5 0 33.b6 31 Rb8 23 34.b7 1:04 h4 4 35.h3 14 Nxh3 1:01 36.Ra8 0 Rxb7 26 37.Bd5 11 Rbb8 12 38.Rxb8 12 Rxb8 0 39.gxh3 16 Qxh3+ 0 40.Qh2 1 Qf3+ 36 41.Qg2 1 Qxe3 0 42.Qxg6 1 Qf3+ 0 43.Kg1 6 h3 11 44.Ra8 32 Rxa8 19 45.Bxa8 0 Qg2+ 22 46.Qxg2 2 hxg2 0 47.Kxg2 1 Bh6 0 48.c4 2 Kg7 1 49.Bd5 9 Kf6 0 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
So,W2760Erigaisi Arjun2718½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.1
Erigaisi Arjun2718So,W27600–12022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.2
So,W2760Erigaisi Arjun27181–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20223.3
 

Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals 2022Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals 2022

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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