Round six of the Challengers tournament at the Prague Chess Festival produced four draws and one decisive result. Despite the scarcity of full points, the round still featured several dynamic positions in which one side or the other obtained genuine chances.
The sole victory of the day was scored by top seed Benjamin Gledura, who pounced on a game-losing blunder by Jachym Nemec. Gledura's win allowed him to recover ground in the standings, as he now stands with 3/6 points (i.e. fifty percent) after having suffered consecutive losses in rounds two and three.
Stepan Hrbek analyses his position while standing next to the board; Benjamin Gledura and Jachym Nemec battle in the background | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
Tournament leader Vaclav Finek, the 16-year-old Czech IM, played black against Zhu Jiner and had a promising opportunity to increase his advantage at the top. The critical moment arose after Zhu played the inaccurate 28.g3 while in time trouble, with only 6 minutes on the clock and 12 moves still to be completed before the time control. Finek, by contrast, had 26 minutes available and therefore ample time to calculate.
Finek rejected the energetic 28…Nxb2!, which after 29.Qxb2 Be5 would have pinned the knight and given Black active play — for instance 30.Qa3 Bxc3 31.Qxa6 Qc4, when Black's pieces coordinate well and the initiative remains with him.
The tournament leader chose the more cautious 28…Qb7?! after 7 minutes of thought. The decision likely reflected his tournament situation, as he had begun the round with a full-point lead and may have wished to avoid unnecessary risks.
Following the text move, Zhu did not take long to simplify the position. Exchanges soon led to a symmetrical endgame with queen, knight and six pawns on each side, in which neither player could realistically press for more. The draw was agreed after Black's 49th move.
Vaclav Finek | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
The remaining drawn games were far from uneventful. Several of them featured imbalanced middlegames or technical endgames in which one side briefly appeared to hold promising chances. In particular, both Thomas Beerdsen and Stepan Hrbek missed opportunities to push for more than a draw.
With six rounds completed, Finek remains the sole leader of the Challengers tournament, still holding a full-point advantage over Beerdsen and Hrbek. In round seven, he will have the white pieces against a recovering Gledura.
Jonas Buhl Bjerre stands 1½ points behind the leader on 3 out of 6 | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
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