Pragg beats Gukesh after sudden twist, wins Reykjavik Open

Abhimanyu impresses

As noted in our first report on the Reykjavik Open, a considerable percentage of the registered participants were players aged 16 or under, as the 50% discount on their entry fees was an effective move by the organizers. Fittingly, it was 16-year-old Praggnanandhaa who won the tournament outright, while 13-year-old Abhimanyu Mishra was one of four players finishing a half point behind the Indian star.

Pragg entered the final round sharing the lead with Max Warmerdam (aged 22) and Mads Andersen (27), two ‘veterans’ compared with the teenager! Andersen had the white pieces against Warmerdam, and the players agreed to a draw after only 16 moves. Meanwhile, Pragg was facing his compatriot Gukesh (aged 15) with black on the next board.

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Gukesh got a favourable position out of the opening, as he had both the bishop pair and the initiative on his side. The younger of the Indian prodigies increased his advantage as the game progressed and did not take long to get a winning position. The ever-fighting Pragg never stopped looking for chances to complicate matters, though.

Suddenly, on move 35, a blunder by Gukesh led to an equal position and, as it often happens in these situations, another grave mistake followed. Resignation came a move later. Pragg had won the game and the tournament!

On board 3, Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest grandmaster in history, had the black pieces against top seed Pouya Idani. The latter was clearly playing for a win against his young opponent rated over 100 points below him. But the risky approach backfired, as Abhimanyu ended up outplaying him in the complications to get a remarkable victory.

Abhimanyu was one of four players who finished the tournament on a 7/9 score, a half point behind Pragg. This group also included Warmerdam, Andersen and Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson, who defeated former sole leader Lukasz Jarmula with the black pieces.

Abhimanyu Mishra convincingly defeated Pouya Idani | Photo: Hallfríður Sigurðardóttir

 

Gukesh D2614

0–1

Praggnanandhaa R2612

Reykjavik Open 2022 lichess.org12.04.2022

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.a3 Bd6 8.Qc2 b6 9.b4 c5 A fighting move by Pragg! A. Hakobyan had played 9...Bb7 against A. Grischuk in an online rapid game earlier this year. 10.bxc5 bxc5 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.Nf3 Re8 13.0-0 Bg4 14.Rd1 Bxf3 Black gives up the bishop pair. Things have started to go downhill for Pragg. 15.gxf3 Bd6 16.Bb2 Be5 17.Bb5 Nbd7 18.Nxd5 Bxb2 19.Qxb2 Re5 20.Bxd7 Rxd5 21.Rxd5 Nxd5 22.Bh3 Nb6 23.Qe5 Qd2 24.f4 Qe2 25.Rc1 Qd3 26.Qc3 Rd8 27.Qc7 h6 28.Qxa7 Nd5

White has increased his advantage in the middlegame. With two pawns to the good in a simplified position, he is now clearly better. 29.Bf1 Qg6+ 30.Bg2 Nc3 31.Rf1 Qd3 32.a4 Rd6 33.a5 Rg6 34.Kh1 Kh7 35.Qd4 Qf5 And here is where disaster struck for Gukesh, who had a strong passer on the queenside and the opposite king on a light-squared square, much like his bishop. 36.Qe5?

36.h3 was the most precise here, preventing Black from doubling on the g-file. 36...Qg4 37.Rg1? A second blunder in a row. Gukesh could not correctly reassess the position, which was drawn after his previous mistake. 37.Be4 Nxe4 38.Qxe4 Qe2 39.Rg1 39.Ra1 Qb2 40.Rf1 Qe2= 39...Qxf2 40.Rxg6 fxg6 and White cannot prevent a perpetual check without making major concessions. 37...Nd1 Gukesh resigned. It was a painful loss for the 15-year-old, who would have tied for first had he made the most of his winning position. 0–1

Gukesh D was inches away from tying for first place! | Photo: Hallfríður Sigurðardóttir

Be careful when you simplify

An endgame played on board 45 in the final round caught the eye of GM Karsten Müller. In Nikash Vemparala vs Askell Karason, White was two pawns down in a rook endgame, but Black’s pawns were doubled on the g-file — the position was drawn.

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To maintain the balance, Vemparala needed to keep the rooks on the board. However, the youngster (born in 2010) thought he could simplify into a pawn ending to secure the half point. He failed to foresee that his opponent had a countertrick down the line, but fortunately for him, his opponent missed it too! The game ended in a draw.

Replay below the instructive analysis by our in-house endgame expert.

 

Vemparala, Nikash1998

½–½

Karason, Askell O2186

Reykjavik Open 2022 12.04.2022[Karsten Mueller]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.0-0 Bd7 5.Re1 a6 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 e6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.c4 Be7 11.Nc3 Nf6 12.Be3 0-0 13.f3 Nd7 14.Qd2 Qc7 15.Red1 Rfd8 16.Qf2 c5 17.Rac1 Ne5 18.b3 Bf6 19.Rd2 Nc6 20.Ne2 a5 21.Nc3 Bxc3 22.Rxc3 e5 23.f4 Nd4 24.Bxd4 exd4 25.Rh3 Qe7 26.Re2 a4 27.g4 axb3 28.axb3 Ra1+ 29.Kg2 Rb1 30.g5 Rb8 31.Qh4 h6 32.Qg4 R1xb3 33.Rxh6 d3 34.Re3 d2 35.Rxb3 Qxe4+ 36.Kf2 d1N+ 37.Qxd1 Qxf4+ 38.Qf3 Qd2+ 39.Qe2 Qxe2+ 40.Kxe2 Rxb3 41.Rxd6 Rc3 42.Rc6 Rxc4 43.Kd3 Rc1 44.Kd2 Rh1 45.Rxc5 Rxh2+ 46.Ke3 Rh4 47.g6 fxg6 48.Kf3 Kh7 49.Kg3 Ra4 50.Rb5 Kh6 51.Rb6 Kh5 52.Rb7 Ra3+ 53.Kg2 Kh6 54.Rb6 Re3 55.Kf2 Re5 56.Kg3 Kg5 57.Rb7 Kf6 58.Kg4 Re4+ 59.Kf3 Re7 60.Rb6+ Re6 61.Rb8 g5 62.Rf8+ Kg6 63.Kg4 Rf6 64.Ra8 Rf4+ 65.Kg3 Rb4 66.Ra7 Re4 67.Ra6+ Kf5 68.Ra5+ Re5

Rook endings are always drawn - but pawn endings are not! So a simplification should be considered extremely carefully: 69.Rxe5+? This loses. For example 69.Ra7 draws easily. 69...Kxe5 70.Kg4 Kf6 71.Kh5!?

A good trick, albeit insufficient. 71.Kh5!? g4 The countertrick. 72.Kxg4 Kg6 Opposition 73.Kf4 Kh5 Black's king has reached a key square. 74.Kf3 Kg5 75.Kg3 g6 76.Kf3 Kh4 77.Kf2 g5 78.Kg2 Kg4 79.Kh2 Kf3 80.Kg1 Kg3 81.Kh1 g4 82.Kg1 Kh3 With a knight's pawn, the king must move to the edge - which is worth knowing by heart. After 82...Kf3?! 83.Kh2 Black must repeat with Kf2 84.Kh1 Kg3 85.Kg1 and now finally Kh3-+ 83.Kh1 g3 84.Kg1 g2 85.Kf2 Kh2-+ ½–½

Three-time Danish champion Mads Andersen finished in shared second place | Photo: Thorsteinn Magnusson

Final standings

...245 players

Games from round 9

Replay all available games from the tournament at Live.ChessBase.com

Links

• Official site
• Kvika Reykjavik Open 2022: No Covid-restrictions