Prague Masters 2025 R3: Amazing Aravindh outwits Wei, now World no.16, Praggnanandhaa World no.7
Aravindh Chithambaram continues his terrific form at 7th Prague International Chess Festival 2025 Masters. Once again, he played fantastic chess to beat Wei Yi (CHN). Aravindh is now World no.16 with a live rating of 2740.1. He has also taken an early sole lead 2.5/3. It is not every day when Wei loses two out of the first three games in a strong super tournament like this. R Praggnanandhaa scored his first win of the event against Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE). The Czech Republic no.2 went for an incorrect break in the middlegame and paid a heavy price for it. GM Sasikiran Krishnan and GM Raja Rithvik R won their second consecutive games respectively. The fourth round for Masters, Challengers and Futures, and Round 3 Open starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Praggnanandhaa scores his first win over Thai Dai Van
R Praggnanandhaa registered his first victory of the event against Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE). It moved him up to World no.7 with a live rating 2759.7.
Aravindh - Wei: 1-0
GM Aravindh Chithambaram (2729) faced GM Wei Yi (CHN, 2755) for the first time and he won the game convincingly.
18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.g4 that's modern day chess for you. Aravindh was aware of this idea and decided to go for it.
30...Bb5? misplaced the bishop 31.Ne4 allowed White to bring the knight into action Kg7? 32.Rh1 Qg6 and White won the game after a dozen more moves. Black had one small opportunity to get back in the game. However, it was not easy to spot with less time on the clock.
Praggnanandhaa - Thai Dai Van
Thai Dai Van Nguyen's (CZE, 2668) break 14...f5? did not pan out the way he wanted it to. 15.dxe6 f4 16.Rad1 Qe8 17.gxf4 Nxf4 18.Bxf4 Rxf4 19.Nd5 Black could not recover his position and R Praggnanandhaa (2741) won the game in another ten moves.
Don't forget to cast your vote for the best game of Round 3. For more Round 3 photos, Mathesso and Karel Janeček Open 2025 Round 2 photos, please click at the respective links.
Schedule
The Round-Robin tournaments will take place from 26th February to 7th March 2025. Every day except the last round, games will start at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Monday 3rd March is a rest day. The ninth round game on 7th March will start at 11 a.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST.
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