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FIDE ranks countries using the rating average of the 100 top players in each nation. Currently, Türkiye stands in 24th place, though the country in Anatolia is likely to climb in this ranking thanks to the remarkable performances shown by two strong prodigies: Ediz Gurel (b. 2008) and Yagiz Erdogmus (b. 2011).
While Erdogmus recently won the Jeddah Young Masters, Gurel has now claimed outright victory at the Prague Challengers. Gurel entered the 10-player event as the sixth seed, and collected 4 wins and 5 draws for an undefeated 6½/9 performance. The youngster thus grabbed his third and final GM norm, which means he just became the youngest-ever Turkish player to get the GM title.
Going into the final round, Gurel was sharing the lead with Jaime Santos. While Santos could not make the most of a small middlegame advantage in his game with black against Vaishali, Gurel got the better of former co-leader Anton Korobov after reaching a pawn-up rook and bishop endgame.
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Careful play by the youngster allowed him to get the full point by move 63. This was the only decisive game seen in the final round of the event.
The ever-creative Korobov only drew two games throughout the event, and his back-to-back losses in the final rounds left him in fifth place with 5/9 points. Jaime Santos finished in sole second place with 6 points, while Erwin l’Ami and Abhimanyu Mishra tied for third with 5½ points each.
After winning the Masters tournament with a round to spare, Nodirbek Abusattorov signed a 38-move draw with fellow elite GM Richard Rapport in his final game of the event. Abdusattorov thus remains as world number 4 in the live ratings list, ahead of the likes of world champion Ding Liren, Alireza Firouzja and Ian Nepomniachtchi.
In a lengthy interview conducted by ChessBase India’s Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal, the Uzbek star talked about his absence in the upcoming Candidates Tournament. The 19-year-old showcased his usual unpretentious temperament:
I feel this cycle is not my cycle. [...] I am not quite there yet, so I’ll have more time until the next cycle, and I’ll gain more experience. I hope I will be ready.
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Abdusattorov also mentioned that he has been working with Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Jacob Aagaard, two well-known chess trainers. The youngster informed that he will continue to work with Kasimdzhanov.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Anezka Kruzikova
Round 9 saw all five games ending drawn in the Masters, but there was plenty of fight on at least three boards. The game between Parham Maghsoodloo and Dommaraju Gukesh was particularly exciting.
In an inferior position and with little time on his clock, Gukesh decided to sacrifice his knight on e3.
There followed 38...Nxe3+ 39.fxe3 Rc2+ 40.Kh3 Qd3, as presumably Gukesh thought this should get him enough firepower with the major pieces to get a draw by perpetual.
The Indian youngster, however, failed to foresee a good-looking tactical shot for White — one that, fortunately for Gukesh, was also missed by Maghsoodloo.
Maghsoodloo played 41.Ra7, when after 41...Qf1+ 42.Kg4 Rf2 43.Qd8+ Kh7 44.Rxf7 h5+ 45.Kxh5 Rxf3, Black indeed simplified into an endgame that leads to a perpetual check, with vulnerable kings and queens still on the board.
What both players missed was the rather unexpected 41.Ra8+ Kh7 42.Rh8+
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White wins after the forced 42...Kxh8 43.Qa8+ Kh7 44.Be4+, grabbing the black queen. For a second day in a row, Maghsoodloo failed to play winning (yet difficult to find) tactical shots.
Dommaraju Gukesh | Photo: Anezka Kruzikova
