Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa achieved his second consecutive victory, defeating Germany’s Vincent Keymer to tie with compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram at the top of the leaderboard, each with three points after the fourth round of the Prague Masters.
Aravindh navigated some early difficulties before drawing with Sam Shankland from the United States. Meanwhile, the tournament’s top seed, Wei Yi from China, showcased a return to form by defeating local star David Navara.
Anish Giri of the Netherlands managed his fourth consecutive draw against Turkey’s Gurel Ediz. Additionally, Czech Grandmaster Nguyen Thai Dai Van also ended up in a draw with Quang Leim Le from Vietnam in the other two matches of the 10-player round-robin event.
With Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh leading, Shankland, Keymer, Giri, and Le are one point behind, suggesting that the title race might mainly involve the two Indian players, especially with five rounds remaining.
Just weeks earlier, Keymer had defeated Praggnanandhaa at the Tata Steel Masters. However, this time the Indian player turned the tables, successfully countering what appeared to be a shaky French defense with black pieces.
Keymer found himself surprised during the middlegame. Praggnanandhaa opted to trade queens and initiated a counterattack. Meanwhile, Keymer, low on time, wasted moves by shifting his rook back and forth in a futile attempt to salvage the game. Praggnanandhaa capitalized on the situation, skillfully maneuvering his pieces to capture a couple of pawns. The game concluded in 44 moves.
In Aravindh’s game, he encountered the Sicilian defense, where Shankland quickly equalized. An exchange of pieces resulted in a minor advantage for Shankland, but the endgame leaned heavily towards a draw. Eventually, both players reached a theoretically drawn position with rooks and pawns, where Shankland’s extra pawn proved insignificant.
The next round promises an exciting matchup as the two leaders will face off against each other, with Praggnanandhaa playing with the white pieces.
In the challengers’ section, Divya Deshmukh drew with China’s Ma Qun, bringing her score to 1.5 points from four games. This section is currently led jointly by Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev and Denmark’s Jonas Buhl Bjerre, each with three points.
Results of Round 4: Aravindh Chithambaram (IND, 3) drew with Sam Shankland (USA, 2); Vincent Keymer (GER, 2) lost to R Praggnanandhaa (IND, 3); Wei Yi (CHN, 1.5) defeated David Navara (CZE, 1.5); Gurel Ediz (TUR, 1.5) drew with Anish Giri (NED, 2); Nguyen Thai Dai Van (CZE, 1.5) drew with Quang Leim Le (VIE, 2).
Challengers: Stamatis Kourkoulous-Arditis (GER, 1.5) drew with Ivan Salgado Lopez (ESP, 2); Vaclav Finek (CZE, 1.5) lost to Marc`andria Maurizzi (FRA, 2); Divya Deshmukh (IND, 1.5) drew with Ma Qun (CHN, 2); Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN, 3) drew with Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB, 2); Nemec Jychym (CZE, 1.5) lost to Richard Stalmach (CZE, 1.5).
