Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Stay Ahead in Prague Masters Chess Tournament

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram Stay Ahead in Prague Masters Chess Tournament

In an intense battle of wits, Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram, both from India, played to a draw in the fifth round of the Prague Masters chess tournament. The two players are now leading the pack with 3.5 points each, staying a full point ahead of their nearest competitors.

The top seed, Wei Yi of China, along with Anish Giri of Holland, Quang Leim Le of Vietnam, and Vincent Keymer of Germany, are all trailing behind with 2.5 points apiece. The remaining four contestants, including Czech duo David Navara and Nguyen Thai Dai Van, Sam Shankland of the United States, and Gurel Ediz of Turkey, are sharing the sixth spot.

With four more rounds to go in the 10-players round-robin tournament, the competition is heating up. The day saw only one decisive game, with Wei Yi defeating Shankland to secure his second victory in a row. Anish Giri played to a draw with Dai Van, Navara managed to hold Keymer after a tough battle, and Le settled for a draw with Ediz.

The game between Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh was their third Classical encounter, with the result remaining the same as before. Aravindh, playing with the black pieces, opted for a solid Berlin defense strategy, leading to a balanced position throughout the game. Despite being a pawn down, Aravindh had enough counter-play to secure a draw in the rook and pawns endgame.

In the challengers section, Divya Deshmukh suffered her third loss in the tournament against Marc’Andria Maurizzi of France. Nnodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan emerged as the sole leader in this section, with four points from five games.

As the players gear up for the next round after a rest day on Monday, the competition is expected to intensify. Stay tuned for more updates on the Prague Masters chess tournament.