Missed chances decide both matches
Arjun Erigaisi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave have reached the final of the WR Chess Masters Cup after winning their semifinal matches in all-Indian and all-French encounters. Arjun defeated his compatriot Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, while MVL triumphed over Alireza Firouzja. The final will be played on Thursday, with game 1 starting at 11.00 CEST and game 2 at 18.00 CEST.
Arjun and Pragg, good friends and teammates in the Indian national chess squad, faced each other in a hard-fought match - the two youngsters often take long walks during tournaments, sharing thoughts and encouraging each other. Arjun won game 1 by outplaying Pragg in a complex knight endgame. In the second game, Pragg missed a key pawn push that could have led to a victory, resulting in a draw and sending Arjun to the final.
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.
The all-French semifinal between MVL and Firouzja was decided in an Armageddon tiebreak after two classical draws. Vachier-Lagrave, playing black in the decider, used the sharp Najdorf Sicilian. Firouzja gained an advantage, but MVL's passed pawns created serious counterplay. A blunder by Firouzja on move 37 allowed MVL to turn the tables and win the match, with both players having only about a minute left on their clocks at that point.

The beautiful playing hall at the Langham Hotel in London | Photo: ChessBase India / Abhyudaya Ram
Arjun 1½ - ½
Game 1 was a 70-move struggle, which saw Arjun testing his opponent in a technical knight endgame. Arjun had an extra (doubled) pawn once only kings, knights and pawns were left on the board.
Converting such a small edge into a win is no easy task, especially against a player as resourceful as Pragg. Arjun managed, however, as he kept testing his opponent until a mistaken king manoeuvre on move 56 vastly improved his advantage.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: ChessBase India / Abhyudaya Ram
In the second encounter, Pragg ably created imbalances while in a must-win situation. But when Arjun faltered on move 36, he failed to find the tricky refutation that would have likely given him the win he needed to take the match to Armageddon.
Pragg here went for 36.Qg5+, and a draw was agreed once he realised that the queen trade would lead to a completely balanced position.
Instead, 36.f5 is winning for White, when the threat of f5-f6-f7 is too much for Black to handle - e.g. 36.f5 Nd3 37.f6 Qd7 38.f7+ (diagram) Kh8 39.Qf6#
Of course, Black could play 36...Rf8 to deal with this potential line, but in that case 37.Rc8, deviating the defender, is devastating. The two contenders were visibly shocked once they saw this recourse right after the game.
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Na5 6.0-0 d6 7.Re1 Nxb3 8.axb3 g5 9.d3 g4 10.Nfd2 Qf6N 10...h5 11.Nc3 c6 12.Nf1 Bg7 13.Ne3 Ne7 14.Ne2 Be6 15.d4 Qb6 16.d5 cxd5 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 11.Nc3 c6 12.Nf1 Ne7 13.Be3 Bg7 14.Qd2 Rb8 15.Red1 Qg6 16.d4 0-0 17.dxe5 Bxe5 18.Bf4 h5 19.Bxe5 dxe5 20.Qd6 Qxd6 21.Rxd6 Be6 22.Rxa6 Ra8 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.f3 gxf3 25.gxf3 Kg7 26.Kf2 Ra1 27.Rd1 Rxd1 28.Nxd1 f5 29.exf5 Bxf5 30.Nde3 Bg6 31.Ng3 Kf6 32.h4 Nc8 33.Ke2 Nd6 34.Kd2 Nb7 35.Kc3 Nc5 36.Kb4 Ne6 37.c3 Ke7 38.Ne4 Bxe4 39.fxe4 Kd6 40.Nf5+ Kc7 41.Ng3 Nf4 42.Ka5 Ng2 43.Nf5 43.Nxh5 Nxh4 44.Nf6 Nf3 43...Ne1 44.c4 bxc4 45.bxc4 Nf3 46.c5 Nd2 47.Ng3 47.Nd6± 47...Kb7? 47...Nc4+= 48.Kb4 Nxb2 48.b4!+- 48.Nxh5 Nf3± 48...Nb3+ 49.Ka4 Nd4 50.Nxh5 Nf3 51.Nf6? 51.b5+- Nxh4 52.Ng7 51...Nxh4± 52.b5 52.Ka5± 52...Nf3= 53.b6 Ng5! 54.Ka5 Ne6 55.Kb4 55.Nd7!? 55...Ng5! 56.Kc4 Ka6? 56...Kb8= 57.Kd3! Ne6 58.Nd7 Kb7 59.Kc4! 59.Nxe5 Nxc5+ 60.Kc4 Kxb6= 59...Ng5 60.Nxe5 Nxe4 61.Nf7 Nd2+ 62.Kb4 Kc8 63.Ne5 Kb7 64.Nc4! Ne4 65.Na5+ Ka6 66.Nxc6 Nf6 67.Ka4 Ne4 68.Nb4+! Kb7 69.Kb5 Nc3+ 70.Ka5 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Erigaisi Arjun | 2797 | Praggnanandhaa R | 2746 | 1–0 | 2024 | | WR Chess Masters Cup 2024 | 3.1 |
Praggnanandhaa R | 2746 | Erigaisi Arjun | 2797 | ½–½ | 2024 | | WR Chess Masters Cup 2024 | 3.2 |
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Vachier-Lagrave 2 - 1 Firouzja
The classical games in the all-French semifinal were quite balanced throughout, with Firouzja playing an Alapin Sicilian with black and MVL choosing his beloved Grünfeld in the rematch.
In the Armageddon, MVL got the black pieces, draw odds, and a bit over 7 minutes on the clock (to Firouzja's 10 minutes). Not surprisingly, MVL played the Najdorf against Firouzja's 1.e4. A tricky middlegame saw Firouzja getting the upper hand, which he kept until move 37 - when a single mistake turned the tables in MVL's favour.
Firouzja v. Vachier-Lagrave
White has an extra bishop, but has to deal with Black's dangerous connected passers. The one move that keeps White's advantage here is 37.Nc2, and after 37...Ng3 38.Nxe3 Nxf1 39.Nxf1 (diagram), White should win with the two minor pieces against the rook, as his three connected passers on the queenside will soon become extremely powerful.
Perhaps considering that his bishop and knight would be able to kee an eye on the potential e3-e2 push, Firouzja went for the direct 39.b4, and resigned after 39...Rc1 40.Rxc1
The problem for White is that after 40...Kxc1 41.e2 (diagram), both captures are bad - 41...Nxe2 fails to 42.f1Q+, while 41...Bxe2 fails to 42.Nxe2+
The Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi with an ELO of over 2700 (June 2023) is one of the best 20 players in the world. For the first time, the sympathetic top player presents himself in a video course. Let a world-class player show you tactical moti

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: ChessBase India / Abhyudaya Ram
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.a3 b6 6.d4 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bb7 8.Bd3 d6 9.0-0 Nd7 10.Nbd2 Be7 11.exd6 Bxd6 12.Nc4 Be7 13.Bd2 0-0 14.Rc1 Rc8 15.Qe2 Rc7 16.Nce5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Qd7 18.Ng5 h6 19.Ne4 Rxc1 19...Rd8 20.Bb5 Qc8 21.Qg4 Kh8 20.Rxc1 Rc8 21.Rd1 Qc7 22.f4 b5 23.b4 a6 24.Qf2 Nb6 25.f5 Bxe4 26.Bxe4 Nc4 27.Bf4 Rd8 27...Nxa3 28.fxe6 Rd8 28...fxe6? 29.Qg3+- 29.exf7+ Kf8 30.Rxd8+ Qxd8 31.h3± 28.Rf1 28...exf5 28...Nxe5?! 29.fxe6 f6 30.Bb1 28...Qd7 29.f6 Bf8 30.fxg7 Bxg7 31.Kh1 Nxe5 32.Qg3 Ng6 29.e6 Bd6 29...Qc8 30.Bxf5 fxe6 30.Bxd6= Nxd6 31.Bxf5 Nxf5 32.exf7+ Qxf7 33.Qxf5 Qxf5 34.Rxf5 Rd3 35.a4 bxa4 36.Ra5 Rd4 37.Rxa4 a5 38.Rxa5 Rxb4 ½–½ - Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2735 | Firouzja,A | 2767 | ½–½ | 2024 | | WR Chess Masters Cup 2024 | 3.1 |
Firouzja,A | 2767 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2735 | ½–½ | 2024 | | WR Chess Masters Cup 2024 | 3.2 |
Firouzja,A | 2767 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2735 | 0–1 | 2024 | | WR Chess Masters Cup 2024 | 3.3 |
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