Prague Masters: D Gukesh, Vidit Gujrathi, and Richard Rapport Play Out Draw with R Praggnanandhaa Losing

In the third round of the ongoing Prague Masters Chess competition, Romania’s Richard Rapport defeated Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa after the latter made a mistake for the second straight day.

This double setback cost the Indian dearly, since there is still a lot of work to be done in the next six rounds of the 10-player round-robin competition. Earlier in the day, the Indian had momentarily led Viswanathan Anand and achieved the top Indian position in the live rating list.

Praggnanandhaa was not the only one to waste his opportunity, thus there was drama everywhere. Once local star David Navara reached a winning position, Nodirbek Abdusattarov of Uzbekistan turned the tables on him from a practically hopeless position when the latter failed to maintain his composure.

Overnight, top German Vincent Keymer held sole leader Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran to a draw in an all-Indian clash, which concluded in a deadlock with neither player able to press things.

In the day’s other match, Mateusz Bartel of Poland lost to Nguyen Than Dai Van of the Czech Republic after a challenging endgame.

Arjun Erigaisi, meantime, defeated China’s Xiangyu Yu in the first round of the Shenzen Masters to become the new number one in India. This information is coming from Shenzen, China.

As of right now, Abdusattarov and Maghsoodloo are tied for the lead with 2.5 points each out of a possible three, with Gukesh and Rapport behind them both by 2 points. With 1.5 points, Gujrathi is in fifth place, half a point ahead of Praggnanandhaa, Navara, Dai Van, and Keymer. Bartel is at the bottom of the leaderboard with only half a point.

Put simply, Praggnanandhaa was having a bad day. The Indian played his game against Rapport perfectly, with the exception of crossing the finish line. The former Hungarian, currently living in Romania, is renowned for his unconventional openers and unwavering approach. The King’s Indian was no different, as Praggnanandhaa advanced quickly through the middle before attempting a king-side assault, and Rapport made a choice that was unusual for this level of play.

In the midst of the game, Rapport seemed to be completely lost for a while, but he persisted until the Indian crumbled. After then, the game swiftly transformed as Rapport discovered some study-like defensive and easily won.

In a Berlin defensive game, Gukesh was unable to gain much ground with his white pieces against Gujrathi. Routine exchanges characterized the middle game, and the players soon reached a minor pieces endgame that was just level.

Round 3 results (Indians unless otherwise noted): Mateusz Bartel (Pol, 0.5) lost to Nguyen Thai Dai Van (Cze, 1); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 1) drew with Parham Maghsoodloo (Iri, 2.5); R Praggnanandhaa (1) lost to Richard Rapport (Rou, 2); Nodirbek Abdusattarov (Uzb, 2.5) defeated David Navara (Cze, 1); D Gukesh (2) drew with Vidit Gujrathi (1.5).