Praggnanandhaa Outwits Keymer at Prague Masters

Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa continued his strong run at the Prague Masters, securing a second consecutive victory by outplaying Germany’s Vincent Keymer. With this win, he joined fellow Indian GM Aravindh Chithambaram at the top of the leaderboard with three points after four rounds. Aravindh, meanwhile, navigated some early difficulties before settling for a draw against Sam Shankland of the United States. In another key match, top seed Wei Yi of China finally regained form, defeating local favourite David Navara.

The Netherlands’ Anish Giri continued his streak of draws, sharing the point for the fourth consecutive round against Turkey’s Gurel Ediz. Meanwhile, Czech GM Nguyen Thai Dai Van split the point with Vietnam’s Quang Liem Le in the other two encounters of the 10-player round-robin event

Title Race: A Two-Player Contest?

With five rounds remaining, Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh have emerged as the clear frontrunners. Shankland, Keymer, Giri, and Le sit a full point behind, making it increasingly likely that the title race will be contested between the two Indian GMs. Praggnanandhaa’s victory over Keymer was particularly significant, as it avenged his recent loss to the German in the Tata Steel Masters. Playing with the black pieces, the Indian GM defended with the French Defence, despite facing a few shaky moments early on.

The turning point arrived in the middlegame when Keymer was caught off guard. Praggnanandhaa initiated a queen trade and launched a counterattack, seizing control of the position. As Keymer’s time dwindled, he faltered, making inefficient rook moves that only helped his opponent consolidate. Praggnanandhaa capitalised, winning a couple of pawns before smoothly converting his advantage into victory in 44 moves.

Meanwhile, Aravindh faced the Sicilian Defence against Shankland, who equalised with relative ease. A series of exchanges led to a slight edge for the American, but the resulting endgame was always likely to end in a draw. Despite having an extra pawn in the final rook-and-pawn endgame, Shankland found no way to break through, and the players eventually agreed to a draw. The upcoming round promises high stakes, as the two leaders—Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh—will go head-to-head, with Praggnanandhaa playing with the white pieces.

Challengers’ Section: Divya Deshmukh Holds Ma Qun

In the Challengers’ section, India’s Divya Deshmukh played out a draw against China’s Ma Qun, bringing her tally to 1.5 points from four rounds. The section is currently co-led by Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev and Denmark’s Jonas Buhl Bjerre, both of whom have three points.