Superbet Classic 2024 R3: Praggnanandhaa misses a win against Gukesh
The highly anticipated battle between D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa ended in a draw in Round 3 of Grand Chess Tour Superbet Classic 2024. However, it was not without excitement. Gukesh made an incorrect queen trade offer in the endgame which allowed his opponent, to liquidate into a winning pawn endgame, except Praggnanandhaa could not manage to capitalize on his chance. It was not easy but certainly something a player of his calibre should not miss. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) was the other player who had a great opportunity to push for a win against Alireza Firouzja (FRA). The former World Blitz champion did not push his passed pawn at the right time. His opponent escaped with a draw. In Round 4, it will be Firouzja vs Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa vs Anish Giri. Round 4 starts today from 3 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Grand Chess Tour/Lennart Ootes
MVL allows Firouzja to escape
All five games of the third round ended in draw. However, R Praggnanandhaa and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had the best chances to score a win each.
Gukesh - Praggnanandhaa: 0.5-0.5
D Gukesh (2763) has not lost a Classical rated game against R Praggnanandhaa (2747) since April 2022. That remained unchanged yesterday. Although, Gukesh blundered in the endgame which gave his opponent decisive advantage in the pawn endgame.
53.Qf3?? turned out to be a decisive mistake for White due to Black forcing the position into a winning pawn endgame 53...Qxf3 54.Rxf3 Rf5 55.Rxf5 gxf5-+ 56.Kf2 Kg6 57.Kf3 Kg5 58.h3
Black is still winning here 58...h5 59.Ke3 f4+ is one of the winning ways. However, he misplayed 58...Kf6?? White managed to get away with a draw 59.Kf4= Black's winning chances are completely gone.
Solve questions posed by IM Sagar Shah on our interactive platform ChessRanga.
Vachier-Lagrave - Firouzja: 0.5-0.5
Over two years ago, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 2732) defeated Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 2737) at the same event in the final round. He got a winning opportunity in the endgame but he could not capitalize.
25...Rxb2?? is a positional mistake as Black's a2-bishop gets trapped and gets exchanged by force. 26.c4! Rxd2 27.Nxd2 a4 28.Ra1 Bb3 29.Nxb3 axb3 30.Rb1 Re8 31.Rxb3 Re2 32.f3 Rh2 33.Kxf5 Rxh3 What White needed to do now is to focus on his passed f-pawn immediately. 34.Kg4 Rh1 35.f4 was the correct way to continue. Instead, 34.Bg7 c6 35.Be5 b5 gave Black some time to create some play. Still, White need not capture on b5 as that does not help him in any way. If anything, it helps Black. Still 36.Kg4 Rh1 37.f4 was an option to maintain the upper hand. Instead, 36.cxb5 c4 37.Rb4 Rxf3+ meandered into a draw.
Schedule and Format
Superbet Chess Classic will have one round played each day from 26th June to 5th July 2024. Each round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Except the last round on 5th July which will start at 2 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. The sole rest day is on Monday 1st July. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control will be 120 minutes KO + 30 sec./move.
Prize
The total prize fund of each Classical event is the double of Rapid and Blitz events - US$ 350000.
Replay Round 3 games
Round 3 results
Standings after Round 3
Round 4 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2805 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | GM | Deac, Bogdan-Daniel | 2680 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 8 | 2770 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | GM | So, Wesley | 2757 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 9 | 2747 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu | GM | Giri, Anish | 2745 | 5 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 2737 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | GM | Gukesh, Dommaraju | 2763 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 2 | 2766 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 2732 | 3 |
