Van Foreest leads with two rounds to go
Round seven of the Masters in Prague again produced only one decisive result, but every game involved sustained fighting play. With two rounds remaining, Jorden van Foreest continues to lead the standings by half a point after drawing a sharp encounter with Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
The sole victory of the day was recorded by Vincent Keymer, who defeated David Anton in a complicated Anti-Berlin struggle. Keymer achieved a better position during the middlegame.
Anton had given up a minor piece for two kingside pawns (note that he has two connected passers on g3 and h4), but by this point Keymer had already things under control and was beginning to look for ways to improve his pieces and go for the win.
The Spaniard's 36...c4?! was not a good idea, as he should have tried to keep the status quo while getting ready to defend a tough position in the long run - better is, for example, 36...Qb6 or 36...Rgg8.
Keymer found the strong 37.d4! - which is the refutation of Black's pawn push - and he was clearly for choice after 37...exd4 38.e5 Qe6 39.Bxd4
The queens soon left the board, and Anton was left defending a clearly inferior position. Keymer seemed to be en route to a clean victory, until he faltered with 56...Rh2?
White cannot save the bishop, but is still winning after the precise 56.Ne4, since after 56...cxd4 57.cxd4, the central passed pawns are very strong.
After the text move, Black got many more defensive recourses, and kept finding moves that hindered Keymer's ability to make progress. Importantly, though, both players were in time trouble, with Anton "surviving on increments" for some periods of the game.
The Spaniard was the one making the last mistake with 60...Rg2?
This video course features the ins-and-outs of the possible setups Black can choose. You’ll learn the key concepts and strategies needed to add this fantastic opening to your repertoire. An easy-to-learn and yet venomous weapon.60...Rc7 was the way to keep the drawing chances alive, as the text move allowed an immediate 61.d5+ (61...Kxd5 fails to 62.Ne3+, grabbing the rook). The rest was simpler for Keymer, who was inches away from missing a huge chance to collect his second victory of the event. The German star even got to promote to a knight - though it was not strictly necessary - while converting his advantage.
David Anton, a.k.a. "el niño" | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
The key game for the tournament standings was the meeting between Van Foreest and Abdusattorov. The Uzbek grandmaster could have overtaken the leader with a win, but Van Foreest's strong opening preparation allowed him to follow the theoretical path confidently.
The Dutch player knew the position deeply and reached the early middlegame setup without difficulty, while Abdusattorov was already investing considerable time over the board. The complications eventually resolved without a decisive breakthrough, and the players repeated moves in a sharp position, leaving Abdusattorov half a point behind the leader.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.43.Rxg6 led to an immediate draw after 43...Kxg6 44.Qc6+ Bf6, and the players called it a day. White can give perpetual check in multiple ways after capturing the rook.
Jorden van Foreest | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
A dramatic moment occurred in the game between Aravindh Chithambaram and Nodirbek Yakubboev. Aravindh appeared set to secure his second consecutive win after emerging from a mutual time scramble with a completely winning position.
However, the advantage disappeared abruptly after he blundered on move 42 - the Indian GM had found strong moves in much more difficult positions while in deep time trouble just a few minutes ago, and shockingly erred after having received an extra half an hour. Yakubboev played the one trick he had left in the position and escaped with a draw.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of Dutch and Grünfelkd structures with colours reversed.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores one of the most intriguing and under-examined areas of modern chess: reversed opening systems, focusing on the Reversed Grünfeld and the Reversed Dutch. At first glance, these two systems seem unrelated. However, they share a common strategic challenge: the value of tempi, structure, and psychology when familiar openings are played with colours reversed. Drawing on his long professional experience, Sokolov explains why these positions are far more subtle than they appear and why traditional engine evaluations often fail to capture their true complexity.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Larsen’s b4 Plan vs Reversed Stonewall Setups: Larsen - Spassky
Nodirbek Yakubboev signing autographs | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
The remaining games also produced hard-fought draws. In the encounter between David Navara and Hans Niemann, Niemann adopted the Semi-Slav Defence and accepted a compromised pawn structure but managed to maintain solid equality throughout. The game concluded peacefully on move 42.
Meanwhile, reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju shared the point with Parham Maghsoodloo in a very sharp struggle. Early in the middlegame Gukesh played a risky pawn push and soon found himself under pressure. The world champion responded by finding a series of tactical resources that stabilised the position, though, and as the players approached the time control, the balance even began to tilt slightly in his favour. Nevertheless, the game eventually ended in a draw by repetition.
With two rounds still to be played, the standings at the top remain unchanged. Jorden Van Foreest keeps a narrow lead, with David Navara and Nodirbek Abdusattorov sharing second place a half point back. On Thursday, the leader is set to play white against Aravindh Chithambaram, who played two excellent games in rounds six and seven.
Round 7 results
Standings after round 7
All games
Links
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