Prague Masters R7: Aravindh astounds Anish with a majestic play, gains sole lead and now World no.14
Aravindh Chithambaram scored a spectactular win over Anish Giri (NED) to gain sole lead 5/7 at 7th Prague International Chess Festival 2025 Masters. Aravindh found some brilliant tactical shots to beat the super solid Dutch no.1. This win moved Aravindh to World no.14 and India no.4 in the live ratings. R Praggnanandhaa made his best attempt to score a win over Wei Yi (CHN). However, the Chinese defended correctly and did not budge. Liem Quang Le (VIE) blundered an exchange which cost him the game against Sam Shankland (USA). Ediz Gurel (TUR) scored his first win of the tournament against Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE). In the Challengers section, previous round leaders, GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN) and GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) scored a win each over IM Divya Deshmukh and GM Ivan Salgado Lopez (ESP) to stay ahead 5.5/7. The eighth 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
Challengers: Jonas and Yakubboev still the coleaders
"It feels good. I never thought I would beat Anish here... He is too good and too solid with all pieces." - Aravindh Chithambaram on his feelings after winning against Anish Giri. "I thought it will be a fighting game because the tournament situation demands like a win for Anish. So I thought I have to win this game. Of course, he will go for a fight, I would have a very good chance to get a position and play for a win. So I hope it was a good game, like I did not miss any tactical stuff." - The sole leader on his victory.
Karel Janeček Open: GM Thomas Beerdsen (NED) drew with GM Ilya Nyzhnyk (UKR), to stay at the top 6/7. GM Evgenios Ioannidis (GRE), GM Karen H Grigoryan (ARM) and IM Jan Vykouk (CZE) won their respective games to join Thomas in the lead 6/7. GM Raja Rithvik R shared the point with GM Jergus Pechac (SVK). Rithvik is in the chasers' pack with 14 more players.
In the side events, it was the day of K Pair Blitz event. The All-German team of FM Simon Knudsen and Benjamin Melde won the event scoring 18/22. A detailed report on it will be published separately featuring interview with the champion pair, lots of exciting games and more.
Giri - Aravindh: 0-1
GM Aravindh Chithambaram (2731) faced GM Anish Giri (NED, 2737) only once earlier in a rated game at World Blitz 2019. Aravindh had won that game. This time also, Aravindh got the better of the Dutch no.1 in their first-ever Classical rated game.
11...Ne4 was the first new move played by Aravindh. He thought that 11...g6 was the normal way to continue the game but he felt that 11...Ne4 was interesting.
Aravindh found it easy to spot 24...Ng5!! Everything was forced according to Black. 25.Rh1 d4! another beautiful move. 26.fxg5 dxe3 27.gxf5? worsened things for White. 27...gxf5-+ Black won the game in a dozen more moves.
When the game of the round award is won by a game which ended in a draw, both players receive it.
Don't forget to cast your vote for the best game of Round 7. For more Round 7 photos and Karel Janeček Open 2025 Round 7 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 7 Masters games
Replay Round 7 Challengers games
Round 7 Masters results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2741 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | ½ - ½ | GM | WEI Yi | 2755 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2739 | GM | LE Quang Liem | 0 - 1 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | 2670 | 3 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 6 | 2728 | GM | GIRI Anish | 0 - 1 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | 2729 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 7 | 2677 | GM | NAVARA David | ½ - ½ | GM | KEYMER Vincent | 2731 | 1 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 8 | 2624 | GM | GUREL Ediz | 1 - 0 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | 2668 | 9 | PGN |
Standings after Round 7
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2729 | 5 | 0 | 16,75 | 3 | |
| 2 | 4 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | IND | 2741 | 4,5 | 0 | 15,25 | 3 | |
| 3 | 3 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | USA | 2670 | 3,5 | 0 | 12,50 | 3 | |
| 4 | 10 | GM | WEI Yi | CHN | 2755 | 3,5 | 0 | 12,00 | 4 | |
| 5 | 1 | GM | KEYMER Vincent | GER | 2731 | 3,5 | 0 | 11,50 | 3 | |
| 6 | 8 | GM | GUREL Ediz | TUR | 2624 | 3,5 | 0 | 11,00 | 4 | |
| 7 | 5 | GM | LE Quang Liem | VIE | 2739 | 3 | 1 | 10,25 | 3 | |
| 8 | 7 | GM | NAVARA David | CZE | 2677 | 3 | 1 | 10,00 | 4 | |
| 9 | 6 | GM | GIRI Anish | NED | 2728 | 3 | 1 | 9,50 | 4 | |
| 10 | 9 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | CZE | 2668 | 2,5 | 0 | 8,75 | 4 |
Round 8 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2755 | GM | WEI Yi | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | 2668 | 9 | ||||
| 2 | 1 | 2731 | GM | KEYMER Vincent | GM | GUREL Ediz | 2624 | 8 | ||||
| 3 | 2 | 2729 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | GM | NAVARA David | 2677 | 7 | ||||
| 4 | 3 | 2670 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | GM | GIRI Anish | 2728 | 6 | ||||
| 5 | 4 | 2741 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | GM | LE Quang Liem | 2739 | 5 |
Round 7 Challengers results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2449 | IM | STALMACH Richard | ½ - ½ | IM | FINEK Vaclav | 2478 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2659 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | 1 - 0 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | 2599 | 3 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 6 | 2645 | GM | MA Qun | ½ - ½ | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | 2580 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 7 | 2581 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | 1 - 0 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | 2433 | 1 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 8 | 2490 | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | 0 - 1 | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | 2640 | 9 | PGN |
Standings after Round 7
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | DEN | 2640 | 5,5 | 0,5 | 18,00 | 4 | |
| 2 | 5 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | UZB | 2659 | 5,5 | 0,5 | 17,25 | 3 | |
| 3 | 6 | GM | MA Qun | CHN | 2645 | 4 | 0,5 | 13,25 | 4 | |
| 4 | 7 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | FRA | 2581 | 4 | 0,5 | 10,00 | 4 | |
| 5 | 3 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | ESP | 2599 | 3,5 | 0 | 10,25 | 3 | |
| 6 | 2 | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | GRE | 2580 | 3 | 1 | 10,50 | 3 | |
| 7 | 4 | IM | STALMACH Richard | CZE | 2449 | 3 | 1 | 8,75 | 3 | |
| 8 | 10 | IM | FINEK Vaclav | CZE | 2478 | 3 | 1 | 7,50 | 4 | |
| 9 | 1 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | CZE | 2433 | 2 | 0 | 6,50 | 3 | |
| 10 | 8 | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | IND | 2490 | 1,5 | 0 | 5,00 | 4 |
Round 8 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2478 | IM | FINEK Vaclav | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | 2640 | 9 | ||||
| 2 | 1 | 2433 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | 2490 | 8 | ||||
| 3 | 2 | 2580 | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | 2581 | 7 | ||||
| 4 | 3 | 2599 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | GM | MA Qun | 2645 | 6 | ||||
| 5 | 4 | 2449 | IM | STALMACH Richard | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | 2659 | 5 |
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
