“Aravindh Takes Sole Lead in 2025 Prague Chess Festival Masters”
Aravindh Chithambaram Takes Sole Lead at 2025 Prague Chess Festival Masters
In a thrilling round three at the 2025 Prague Chess Festival Masters, GM Aravindh Chithambaram emerged as the sole leader after defeating GM Wei Yi. The game saw two more decisive results as GM Vincent Keymer bounced back from a previous loss to beat GM Sam Shankland, and GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu swiftly punished a mistake by GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen to secure his first win in a 29-move game.
With these results, Aravindh leads the event, closely followed by Keymer and Praggnanandhaa. Round four is set to take place on Saturday, March 1, starting at 9 a.m. ET / 3:00 p.m. CET / 7:30 p.m. IST.
Masters Round 3 Highlights
Aravindh’s victory over Wei Yi showcased his strong opening preparation and incisive play, leading to his second consecutive win in the tournament. The game saw Wei under pressure early on, with Aravindh sacrificing two pawns to dominate the position and secure the victory.
Praggnanandhaa’s win against Van Nguyen marked a significant improvement for the Indian grandmaster, who capitalized on his opponent’s mistake to secure a convincing victory. Keymer, on the other hand, outplayed Shankland in a rook endgame to claim his second win of the tournament.
In other games, Gurel missed a chance to defeat Le, resulting in a draw, while Giri and Navara played out a clean draw with neither player in danger throughout the game.
Looking Ahead
As Aravindh prepares to face Shankland in the next round, Keymer and Praggnanandhaa will go head-to-head in a crucial matchup. The tournament promises more exciting games and fierce competition as the players vie for the top spot.
Meanwhile, in the Challengers section, GMs Jonas Bjerre and Nodirbek Yakubboev maintained their lead with impressive wins in round three. FM Jachym Nemec also secured a victory, positioning himself half a point behind the leaders.
Stay tuned for more updates and follow the games on the official events page of the 2025 Prague Chess Festival.
The 2025 Prague Chess Festival is being held at the Don Giovanni Hotel in Prague, Czech Republic, with a round-robin format featuring 10 players. The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting from move one.