Pragg reaches fifth place in the live ratings list
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu scored a crucial victory in round four of the UzChess Cup, defeating Javokhir Sindarov with the white pieces to join Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the lead. The Indian grandmaster has followed the same trajectory as Abdusattorov thus far, winning both of his games with white and drawing both encounters with black. With this result, both players are now on 3/4 points, sharing first place going into Monday's fifth round, the final one before the event's only rest day.
Trailing the co-leaders by half a point are Arjun Erigaisi and Parham Maghsoodloo. Arjun drew his round-four game to remain unbeaten, while Maghsoodloo claimed his first win of the event by beating defending champion Nodirbek Yakubboev with the black pieces. This puts Maghsoodloo in striking distance of the leaders.
Meanwhile, Pragg's victory earned him 4.2 rating points, moving him to fifth place in the live world rankings, just 0.3 points behind close friend and compatriot Arjun.
Round 4 results
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.
Parham Maghsoodloo defeated 2024 champion Nodirbek Yakubboev with the black pieces | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
In their round-four encounter, Praggnanandhaa and Sindarov entered a Semi-Slav Defence, though they soon deviated from the most heavily analysed theoretical lines. The battle featured numerous subtle positional decisions, particularly in terms of move order, and the engine evaluations fluctuated as a result.
However, it was Sindarov's choice of 15...Nxe4 that proved the more costly inaccuracy.
After 16.Nxe4 Bxe4 17.Qg4, Black could no longer easily complete his development, with kingside castling now a problem and the queen's presence adding persistent pressure.
A better course for Sindarov would have been 15...Nd7. Then, following 16.Nb3 Bxe4 17.Qg4 Nf6, Black would have stabilised the position, restored material equality and kept White from launching a dangerous initiative.
As the game progressed, Pragg did not manage to generate a clear attacking plan, but he preserved his extra pawn on the queenside. By move 31, with 31.b4, he began to activate his passed pawns - the long-term positional advantage that eventually won him the game.
After 31...axb3 32.axb3 Be5 33.h3 Qg6 34.b4, White had fully stabilised the queenside, with a firm grip on his connected passers.
From that point on, Pragg only needed to prevent Black from drumming up serious counterplay on the kingside.
With both players running low on time, Sindarov tried to muddy the waters with 37...Be4. The trick hinged on the line 38.fxe4 fxe4 39.Qe1 Rf8+, threatening perpetual check. But this is chess, not draughts: capturing the bishop was not obligatory.
Pragg declined the capture, and despite giving up the exchange on c2, he retained full control of the position, as the queenside pawns remained the most decisive element on the board. His composure under pressure and tactical awareness allowed him to maintain the advantage throughout.
The game concluded after 45.Qc5, by which point Sindarov's defences had collapsed and resignation was inevitable.
Experts examine the games of Max Euwe. Let them show you which openings Euwe chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, which tactical abilities he had or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame.
Max Euwe became the fifth World Chess Champion after beating Alexander Alekhine in the 1935 World Championship match. A maths teacher by profession, Euwe remained an amateur throughout his life, but was still the best chess player in the Netherlands, and one of the world's best players. Euwe holds the record for the most Dutch national championships, with twelve. After winning the World Championship, Euwe was also the world's best player for a while. He lost the title again in 1937 in the rematch against Alexander Alekhine.
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The playing hall during round four | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
Standings after round 4
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Challengers: Theodorou and Hong co-leaders
Three players entered round four tied for first place in the Challengers. Two of them faced each other, with Nikolas Theodorou beating Mukhiddin Madaminov while marshalling the white pieces. The remaining co-leader, Andrew Hong, also won, which left Theodorou and Hong tied for first place with 3½ points each.
One more game ended decisively on Sunday, as Jakhongir Vakhidov defeated Vasyl Ivanchuk with the black pieces.
Round 4 results
Standings after round 4
All games
Futures: Nigmatov keeps on winning
Ortik Nigmatov scored his third consecutive win to remain as the sole leader in the Futures tournament. Nigmatov defeated Hungarian GM Robert Ruck with white to get a full-point lead over Turkmenistani GM Saparmyrat Atabayev in the standings.
Round 4 results
Standings after round 4
All games
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