Prague Masters 2025 R6: Praggnanandhaa douses fire after Shankland sets the board ablaze
All five games in the Masters section of the 7th Prague International Chess Festival 2025 ended in draws. Sam Shankland (USA) made an interesting knight sacrifice to break R Praggnanandhaa's kingside wide open. Praggnanandhaa found some precise defense to hold a draw. Shankland, who is having a tough tournament, gave his all to score his second win of the event. Aravindh Chithambaram had a relatively quiet draw against Liem Quang Le (VIE). Both Aravindh and Praggnanandhaa continue to lead 4/6, staying a full point ahead of the pursuers - Liem, Vincent Keymer (GER), Anish Giri (NED) and Wei Yi (CHN). The seventh round for Masters, Challengers, Futures, and Karel Janeček Open starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Aravindh and Praggnanandhaa maintain their lead
GM Ediz Gurel (TUR) had an excitin draw with GM Wei Yi (CHN). The Challengers section witnessed a slight change in the leaderboard as GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN) defeated GM Marc` Andria Maurizzi (FRA) to join the lead with GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) 4.5/6. They are also at a full point ahead of the nearest pursuers - GM Qun Ma (CHN) and GM Ivan Salgado Lopez (ESP) at 3.5/6. The tournament director - Petr Boleslav (CZE) joined the live commentary on his 51st birthday to spend more than an hour and predict some fine moves and variations.
GM Thomas Beerdsen (NED) defeated IM Iulian Sofronie (ROU) to become sole leader 5.5/6 at Karel Janeček Open. GM Raja Rithvik R was held to a draw by IM Yuanhe Zhao (CHN). He is now at 5/6. In the side events, it was the day for Fischer Random chess. IM Vadim Cernov (ROU) won that event. We will mention it in detail in a separate report.
Shankland - Praggnanandhaa: 0.5-0.5
GM R Praggnanandhaa (2758) played only two Classical rated games against GM Sam Shankland (USA, 2670). Praggnanandhaa drew one and won the other one. Their third game ended in a draw. However, Shankland made things very exciting, sacrificing his knight and exposing his opponent's kingside.
Black had no choice but to accept the sacrifice 23...gxh6 24.f5 Bxe5 25.Bxh6 Qd6! another only move found by Praggnanandhaa. 26.Qg4+ Kh7 27.Bxf8 Rxf8 28.Qh4+ Kg7 29.Qg5+ Kh7 30.f6 Ng6 Black managed to defend and consolidate his position with precise play. Both players played some fantastic moves and the game ended in a draw.
Wei - Gurel
44...e5 was a necessary break. 45.Bb4 Qc8 computer recommended Qa7 to gain decisive advantage, something which is not easy task for a human, especially under time trouble. 46.f5 Nf4 47.Nxf4 Bg5 48.Kg1 exf4 49.Bxd6 Bxe4 50.Rd4 Rxb3 51.Rexe4 Rg3+ 52.Kf1 Rf3+ and the game ended in a draw via perpetual check.
Don't forget to cast your vote for the best game of Round 6. For more Round 6 photos and Karel Janeček Open 2025 Round 6 photos, please click on 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.
Replay Round 6 Masters games
Replay Round 6 Challengers games
Round 6 Masters results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2670 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | 0 - 1 | GM | WEI Yi | 2755 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 4 | 2741 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | ½ - ½ | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | 2729 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 5 | 2739 | GM | LE Quang Liem | ½ - ½ | GM | KEYMER Vincent | 2731 | 1 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 6 | 2728 | GM | GIRI Anish | ½ - ½ | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | 2668 | 9 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 7 | 2677 | GM | NAVARA David | ½ - ½ | GM | GUREL Ediz | 2624 | 8 | PGN |
Standings after Round 6
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2729 | 4 | 0,5 | 12,00 | 2 | |
| 2 | 4 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | IND | 2741 | 4 | 0,5 | 11,25 | 3 | |
| 3 | 5 | GM | LE Quang Liem | VIE | 2739 | 3 | 0 | 8,75 | 3 | |
| 4 | 1 | GM | KEYMER Vincent | GER | 2731 | 3 | 0 | 8,50 | 2 | |
| 5 | 6 | GM | GIRI Anish | NED | 2728 | 3 | 0 | 8,25 | 4 | |
| 6 | 10 | GM | WEI Yi | CHN | 2755 | 3 | 0 | 7,75 | 3 | |
| 7 | 8 | GM | GUREL Ediz | TUR | 2624 | 2,5 | 0 | 7,75 | 4 | |
| 8 | 3 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | USA | 2670 | 2,5 | 0 | 7,75 | 2 | |
| 9 | 7 | GM | NAVARA David | CZE | 2677 | 2,5 | 0 | 7,50 | 4 | |
| 10 | 9 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | CZE | 2668 | 2,5 | 0 | 7,50 | 3 |
Round 7 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2741 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | GM | WEI Yi | 2755 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 5 | 2739 | GM | LE Quang Liem | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | 2670 | 3 | ||||
| 3 | 6 | 2728 | GM | GIRI Anish | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | 2729 | 2 | ||||
| 4 | 7 | 2677 | GM | NAVARA David | GM | KEYMER Vincent | 2731 | 1 | ||||
| 5 | 8 | 2624 | GM | GUREL Ediz | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | 2668 | 9 |
Round 6 Challengers results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2478 | IM | FINEK Vaclav | 1 - 0 | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | 2490 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 9 | 2640 | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | 1 - 0 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | 2581 | 7 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 1 | 2433 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | 0 - 1 | GM | MA Qun | 2645 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 2 | 2580 | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | ½ - ½ | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | 2659 | 5 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 3 | 2599 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | ½ - ½ | IM | STALMACH Richard | 2449 | 4 | PGN |
Standings after Round 6
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | DEN | 2640 | 4,5 | 0,5 | 13,75 | 3 | |
| 2 | 5 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | UZB | 2659 | 4,5 | 0,5 | 11,75 | 3 | |
| 3 | 6 | GM | MA Qun | CHN | 2645 | 3,5 | 0 | 10,00 | 4 | |
| 4 | 3 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | ESP | 2599 | 3,5 | 0 | 8,75 | 2 | |
| 5 | 7 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | FRA | 2581 | 3 | 0 | 7,00 | 4 | |
| 6 | 2 | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | GRE | 2580 | 2,5 | 0 | 7,50 | 2 | |
| 7 | 4 | IM | STALMACH Richard | CZE | 2449 | 2,5 | 0 | 6,50 | 3 | |
| 8 | 10 | IM | FINEK Vaclav | CZE | 2478 | 2,5 | 0 | 5,50 | 3 | |
| 9 | 1 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | CZE | 2433 | 2 | 0 | 6,00 | 2 | |
| 10 | 8 | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | IND | 2490 | 1,5 | 0 | 4,25 | 4 |
Round 7 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2449 | IM | STALMACH Richard | IM | FINEK Vaclav | 2478 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 5 | 2659 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | 2599 | 3 | ||||
| 3 | 6 | 2645 | GM | MA Qun | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | 2580 | 2 | ||||
| 4 | 7 | 2581 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | FM | NEMEC Jachym | 2433 | 1 | ||||
| 5 | 8 | 2490 | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | 2640 | 9 |
Time Control
The time control is 90'/40 moves + 30'/end & 30"/move.
Links
Tournament Regulations: Masters, Challengers, Futures and Open
Prague Chess Festival: fb. twitter, instagram and youtube
