Praggnanandhaa reduces the gap
R Praggnanandhaa made a great recovery on the final day of rapid. He started the day with a draw with the leader, Vladimir Fedoseev. Then he defeated David Gavrilescu and Jan-Krzysztof Duda to climb to the shared fourth place with Levon Aronian.
Round 7: Aravindh - Duda: 2-0
Aravindh Chithambaram (2550) took the game to Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL, 2731). It means Aravindh played like Duda against Duda. That is certainly a great mindgame played by India's only two-time Triple Crown champion. A quick search reveals that Duda and Aravindh clashed four times at World Blitz events. The World Cup 2021 winner all of them with white pieces. The only time Aravindh got the white pieces against Duda was in a Classical rated event which ended in a draw. This was their first-ever Rapid game and Aravindh must have been delighted to the white pieces.
Aravindh decided to play Anti-Berlin and it was definitely for the right reasons. 10.Bxf7+! is such a wonderful sacrifice and when you are doing it against someone like Duda, you know that you are rattling the cage. 10...Nxf7 11.Nxf7 Kxf7 12.Qh5+ Kf8 13.Nc3 Bb7 14.Nxe4 computer will evaluate it as Black having the advantage but in reality it means nothing because humans are playing the game. The black king being vulnerable will bother a human more than a machine. That is the intangible long-term advantage Aravindh was playing for.
Eventually, Black cracked 22...h5?? That's what Aravindh was aiming for 23.Rc5+- Qxd4 24.Rf5+ and the downward spiral began for Black.
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Praggnanandhaa - Fedoseev: 1-1
It was the first time R Praggnanandhaa (2684) faced Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO, 2739) in a Rapid rated game. The queenless middlegame saw pieces getting exchanged at regular intervals, eventually liquidating into a bishop and knight vs rook endgame where draw became the obvious result.
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Round 8: Vachier-Lagrave - Aravindh: 2-0
Aravindh Chithambaram (2550) faced Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 2745) only once in a rapid rated game at World Rapid Teams in 2023. He won that game. However, this time, the former World Blitz champion outplayed him positionally. The previous against Duda, must have drained Aravindh so much that he could not play his best against MVL.
Gavrilescu - Praggnanandhaa
R Praggnanandhaa found a beautiful combination against David Gavrilescu (ROU, 2506) 21...Nf3+! whether White accepts it or declines, the fate remains unchanged. 22.Kh1 Qe5 23.gxf3 Bxh3 24.Nd4 Qh5 25.Qb5 Rd5 and it's over.
Firouzja - Topalov
Alireza Firouzja crushed the former World Champion, Veselin Topalov (BUL, 2632). Find out the winning combination which Firouzja executed after 17...g4??
Round 9: Praggnanandhaa - Duda: 2-0
Last year, at the same event, R Praggnanandhaa drew against Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL). However, this time, the outcome was different. Praggnanandhaa navigated a complex rook, knight and five pawns endgame quite well.
It is not easy to navigate through the above endgame especially in low time. However, Praggnanandhaa played really well and ended up having four extra pawns on the kingside to win the game.
Aravindh - Firouzja: 2-0
Aravindh Chithambaram played against Alireza Firouzja for the first time in a Rapid rated game. He probably could have finished the game much earlier.
Computer recommends 26.Qxe7! to give White decisive advantage. However, Aravindh opted for the human 26.Bxf6 Bxf6 27.Nxf6+ gxf6 28.Qe7 and the game liquidated into a rook endgame with a three vs two pawns. In the end, Firouzja ran out of time.
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Schedule and Format
Superbet Rapid and Blitz will have three rounds per day in the Rapid portion from 26th to 28th April. The Blitz event will take place on 29th and 30th April. It will be a double round-robin event for the Blitz which means nine rounds will be played on each day. Round 1 starts at 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control for Rapid will be 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment.
Prize
The total prize fund for each of the Rapid and Blitz event is US$ 175000. The top three prizes are US$ 40000, $30000 and $25000.
Replay Round 7-9 games
Standings after Rapid Round 9
