3/23/2024 – Saving the best for the last is a popular saying. The sixth edition of the Prague International Chess Festival awarded best-game prizes for each round. There was also a prize for the most spectacular game of the tournament named Lubomír Kaválek Prize. Nodirbek Abdusattorov won it for his round-8 victory over Parham Maghsoodloo. In this article, we share with you the games which won the prize each round, with commentary by ChessBase India’s Amruta Mokal and Sagar Shah | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/9/2024 – Jaroslav Svoboda, the owner of Czech Inn Hotels and operator of the Hotel Don Giovanni, the venue of the Prague Chess Festival, is a passionate chess fan. In a short interview he reveals that he learnt to play chess rather late in life, talks about his friendship to Vlastimil Hort and explains why Bobby Fischer is not an ideal role model. | Photo: The Hotel Don Giovanni

3/7/2024 – The sixth edition of the Prague Chess Festival came to an end in the capital of the Czech Republic. Nodirbek Abdusattorov had already secured tournament victory in the Masters after the penultimate round. Meanwhile, the Challengers saw Ediz Gurel, aged 15, beating Anton Korobov to win the tournament outright. The prodigy also became the youngest-ever Turkish player to get the GM title. | Photo: Anezka Kruzikova

3/7/2024 – Nodirbek Abdusattorov is the sixth champion of the prestigious chess festival. In the process the the 19-year-old Usbek grandmaster rose to the fourth position in the world live ranking, ahead of the reigning world champion Ding Liren. All games of the final round were drawn, and can be replayed, with engine commentary, in this report. You can also watch the live commentary by ChessBase India, if you missed it.

3/7/2024 – Greek grandmaster Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis is on the verge of victory at the Karel Janecek Open, which is being held as part of the Prague Chess Festival. With one round to go, he has 7.5 out of 8, and is one point ahead of six players with 6.5 out of 8. In round 8, Kourkoulos-Arditis scored an important win with Black in a theoretically interesting and tactically rich game. | Photo: Johannes Fischer

3/7/2024 – Nodirbek Abdusattorov claimed overall victory at the Prague Masters with a round to spare after prevailing in a wild encounter against Parham Maghsoodloo. The Uzbek GM’s 6/8 score in the Czech capital allowed him to gain 15.5 Elo points and climb to fourth place in the live ratings list. Round 8 also saw Gukesh beating Vincent Keymer. Meanwhile, in the Challengers, Jaime Santos defeated Anton Korobov and is now sharing the lead with Ediz Gurel. Gurel’s draw with Erwin l’Ami secured him a third and final GM norm. | Photo: Anezka Kruzikova / Prague Chess Festival

3/6/2024 – Nodirbek Abdusattorov bounced back from his round-6 loss by beating Vincent Keymer at the Masters section of the Prague Chess Festival. Thus, Abdusattorov continues to be the sole leader with two rounds to go. Parham Maghsoodloo got the better of Vidit and now stands in sole second place. In the all-Indian confrontation between Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh (pictured), the latter escaped with a draw in a 91-move game. Meanwhile, Anton Korobov caught Ediz Gurel in the lead of the Challengers. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/5/2024 – An exciting sixth round at the Masters tournament in Prague saw Praggnanandhaa taking down frontrunner Nodirbek Abdusattorov — who remains as the sole leader despite the loss. Parham Maghsoodloo, who entered the round in sole second place, was defeated by Thai Dai Van Nguyen, while Vincent Keymer beat Vidit Gujrathi and Mateusz Bartel got the better of Gukesh. In the Challengers, Ediz Gurel is now the sole leader, as Anton Korobov, who was sharing first place before round 6, was defeated by Maxim Rodshtein. | Photo: Mark Livshitz

3/4/2024 – The Karel Janecek Open, which takes place as part of the Prague Chess Festival, features a number of grandmasters, but after five of nine rounds an IM is in the lead with 5 out of 5: Xiang Zeyu from China. Eight players follow half a point behind with 4.5 out of 5 each. Four of these eight players are Grandmasters, four are International Masters. | Foto: Petr Vrabec

3/3/2024 – A smooth victory over Mateusz Bartel allowed Nodirbek Abdusattorov to become the sole leader of the Masters section in the Prague Chess Festival. Praggnanandhaa R and David Navara also scored full points in an eventful fifth round, the last one before the rest day. In the Challengers, Anton Korobov and Ediz Gurel continue to be the co-leaders, as both players obtained victories on Saturday. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/2/2024 – After a quiet round in the Masters section of the Prague Chess Festival — with five draws — Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Parham Maghsoodloo continue to share the lead with 3/4 points each. On the other hand, the Challengers saw three games ending decisively in round 4, with co-leaders Anton Korobov and Ediz Gurel (pictured) both scoring full points to remain atop the standings. The third winner of the day was Vaishali R, who now has a fifty-percent score after having kicked off the event with two losses in a row. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/1/2024 – The Masters and Challengers are the focus of the Prague Chess Festival, but the Open also has a strong line-up and an attractive field. GM Eltaj Safarli from Azerbaijan (Elo 2614) tops the seeding list, followed by Indian GM S.P. Sethuraman in second place, 11 Elo points behind. A total of 263 players are competing in Prague, including well-known streamers Andrea and Alexandra Botez and Dina Belenkaya, who are broadcasting their games live with commentary. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/1/2024 – An eventful third round in the Masters section of the Prague Chess Festival saw Nodirbek Abdusattorov beating David Navara to catch Parham Maghsoodloo in the lead of the standings. Richard Rapport and Thai Dai Van Nguyen also scored full points — Rapport inflicted Praggnanandhaa’s second loss in a row after the Indian prodigy blundered twice from a superior position. In the Challengers, Abhimanyu Mishra defeated Vaclav Finek to join Anton Korobov and Ediz Gurel in the lead. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

2/29/2024 – Parham Maghsoodloo became the first sole leader at the Masters section of the Prague Chess Festival after beating Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu with the white pieces. Maghsoodloo thus ended Pragg’s undefeated streak of 47 games. In the one other decisive game of the round, Dommaraju Gukesh got the better of Thai Dai Van Nguyen. Meanwhile, Ediz Gurel scored a win to join Anton Korobov in the lead of the Challengers section. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

2/27/2024 – The sixth edition of the Prague Chess Festival kicked off at the Don Giovanni Hotel in the Czech capital. In the Masters, Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Parham Maghsoodloo started with wins to become the tournament’s early co-leaders. Pragg’s victory, over Vincent Keymer, was remarkable, as the Indian star sacrificed a piece early on and managed to convert his attack into a full point while facing a tough defensive effort by his opponent. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

2/20/2024 – Monday 26 February 2024 is the official opening of the Prague Chess Festival 2024 and the first round will be played on Tuesday 27 February. Both the Masters and the Challengers tournaments have an interesting and strong field and with Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Vincent Keymer the four best junior players in the world will meet in Prague. Guest of honour at the opening ceremony will be Vishy Anand, who will also give a lecture and sign autographs.