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Five weeks away from the start of the Candidates Tournament, the Indian trio of Vidit, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa are facing tough opposition in Prague. Gone are the days of most elite players avoiding showing their preparation before important events. In fact, all three Indian stars had also participated at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee. While Gukesh finished tied for first with 8½/13 points, Vidit and Pragg each scored a very respectable 7½/13. However, out of the three, the only one to remain undefeated throughout the event was Pragg.
Pragg, who began the tournament in Prague with a win, actually went undefeated in classical chess for 47 games, as he had lost a slow game for the last time in the quarter-finals of the FIDE World Cup, when Arjun Erigaisi beat him with the black pieces — Pragg then bounced back and eventually reached the final, where he was defeated by Magnus Carlsen.
The streak was broken on Wednesday, when Parham Maghsoodloo made the most of a blunder by the 18-year-old amid a sharp tactical struggle.
White had been putting pressure on the kingside for a while now, which prompted Pragg to err with 37...Ne6 in deep time trouble. Maghsoodloo quickly found 38.Rxf6, which was followed by Pragg’s resignation — i.e. 38...Rxf6 39.Qg8+ Rxg8 40.Rxg8#, while defending the knight with 38...Rfe8 or escaping with 38...Nd4 also fail to quick checkmate patterns.
Improve your pieces - a winning system you need to know
In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.
(Find analysis of the full game below).
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Petr Vrabec
The game between Maghsoodloo and Pragg was a clash of co-leaders, as both players had scored full points in the first round. Since the remaining co-leader after round 1, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, drew his game against Vidit Gujrathi, Maghsoodloo is now the sole leader with a perfect 2/2 score.
Standing a half point behind Maghsoodloo are Abdusattorov and Gukesh. The latter drew with Richard Rapport on opening day and defeated Thai Dai Van Nguyen in round 2.
While Maghsoodloo is set to face Vincent Keymer with black on Thursday, Gukesh will have the white pieces against Vidit in a prelude of their Candidates Tournament confrontation.
Gukesh beat Thai Dai Van Nguyen | Photo: Petr Vrabec
Analysis by André Schulz
Master Class Vol. 12: Viswanathan Anand
This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.
💡Ambassador of the Futures tournament gave a private workshop to our youngest players today. Thank you for your lesson @vishy64theking ! ♟️
— Prague International Chess Festival (@PragueChess) February 28, 2024
📷Petr Vrabec#PICF #PICF2024 #PragueChess #vishyanand #futures pic.twitter.com/n2QQWxyVVQ
A rather quiet couple of rounds in the Challengers saw only 2 out of 10 games ending decisively. Vaishali Rameshbabu, Pragg’s sister, was on the losing side both times — and we surely hope she recovers her usual form soon.
While top seed Anton Korobov was the one grabbing a full point on Tuesday, it was Ediz Gurel who scored a victory in the second round. Gurel (b. 2008) made headlines recently, as he stunned Velimir Ivic in brilliant style on the first day of action at the 2023 FIDE World Cup.
In the decisive game of round 2, Vaishali erred right out of the opening in a Sicilian Defence, and on move 17 saw it necessary to give up a crucial pawn with her king still in the centre.
The sequence 17...Bd7 18.Qxd6 Rb6 19.Qc5 leaves Black struggling to find piece coordination with her king in constant danger. Gurel made the most of the great position he got out of the opening as he upped the pressure until resignation came on move 28.
In round 3, Gurel will play black against Israeli GM Maxime Rodshtein, while Korobok will play white against Czech IM Richard Stalmach.
In this DVD, Erwin l'Ami guides you through the fascinating Benko Gambit. As early as move three Black starts a fight for the initiative, a strategy that has proved to be successful in countless amateur and master level games.
Co-leader Anton Korobov | Photo: Petr Vrabec
