Praggnanandhaa, Aravindh and Divya set to battle world's best at Prague International Chess Festival 2025
The seventh edition of Prague International Chess Festival 2025 starts today. Three Indians will be seen in action - GM R Praggnanandhaa, GM Aravindh Chithambaram and IM Divya Deshmukh. The first two will play in the Masters section, while Divya will battle in the Challengers. She is the sole female player in the Challengers event. Speaking of female, the Futures section has all female players. It is quite possibly the first time ever, a Futures event of a chess festival featured only girls. The average age of the section is 13. ChessBase India cofounder IM Sagar Shah and GM Harshit Raja will be the Official Commentators. Pentala Harikrishna, the winner of the fourth edition, was present during the opening ceremony to show support to his friends and compatriots. Round 1 for Masters, Challengers and Futures start today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Vaibhav, Sasikiran, Raja Rithvik will play in the Open, Sagar and Harshit are the Official Commentators
World no.8 and China no.1 - Wei Yi, R Praggnanandhaa, World no.14 and India no.4 - R Praggnanandhaa, World no.16, Vietnam no.1 and World Blitz 2023 champion - Liem Quang Le, World no.19 and Germany no.1 - Vincent Keymer, World no.21 and India no.5 - Aravindh Chithambaram, World no.23 and Netherlands no.1 - Anish Giri, World no.48 and Czech Republic no.1 - David Navara, World no.50, USA no.10 and the winner of the third edition in the Masters section - Sam Shankland, Czech Republic no.2, 45th Olympiad individual Gold medalist and last year's runner-up - Thai Dai Van Nguyen, and winner of the last year's Challegers section - Ediz Gurel (TUR) comprise the Masters section. The average rating of the Masters event is 2706, average age is 27. IM Divya Deshmukh will play in the Challengers section and she is the sole female player in it. The average rating of the Challengers section is 2555, nine more since last year and average age is 23. The Indian legend - GM Sasikiran Krishan will play the Open section which starts tomorrow. GM Vaibhav Suri is slated to be the highest rated Indian in that event.
Masters participants
The Masters section participants are - Wei Yi (CHN, 2755), R Praggnanandhaa (2741), Liem Quang Le (VIE, 2739), Vincent Keymer (GER, 2731), Aravindh Chithambaram (2731), Anish Giri (NED, 2728) David Navara (CZE, 2677), Sam Shankland (USA, 2670), Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE, 2630) and Ediz Gurel (TUR, 2624).
Challengers participants
The Challengers section participants are - GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB, 2659), GM Qun Ma (CHN, 2645), GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN, 2640), GM Ivan Salgado Lopez (ESP, 2599), GM Marc` Andria Maurizzi (FRA, 2581), GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (GRE, 2580), IM Divya Deshmukh (2490), IM Vaclav Finek (CZE, 2478), IM Richard Stalmach (CZE, 2449), and FM Jachym Nemec (CZE, 2433).
Futures
For the first time, the futures section has all girls participants. There have been many women's round-robin tournaments, however it is quite possibly the first time that a Futures section of a chess festival has all girls players. The average age of the players is only 13 years.
Innovative Draw of lots continues
Organizers continued a very nice idea at the Draw of Lots which they started last year. A participant from the Futures group is called to choose an envelope which contains a photo of a player from the Masters group. The Masters player comes and draws their number. They are paired. At the end of the event, the pair with the highest score will be awarded trophies. This is a beautiful idea which will certainly inspire the Futures player and also create good memories for the Masters participants.
Pairings and Schedule
The Round-Robin tournaments will take place from 26th February to 7th March 2024. 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.
Photo Gallery
For more photos, please click here.
Watch live stream
Video Gallery
Round 1 Masters pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2731 | GM | KEYMER Vincent | GM | WEI Yi | 2755 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 2 | 2729 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | 2668 | 9 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | 2670 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | GM | GUREL Ediz | 2624 | 8 | ||||
| 4 | 4 | 2741 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | GM | NAVARA David | 2677 | 7 | ||||
| 5 | 5 | 2739 | GM | LE Quang Liem | GM | GIRI Anish | 2728 | 6 |
Round 1 Challengers pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2433 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | IM | FINEK Vaclav | 2478 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 2 | 2580 | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | 2640 | 9 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | 2599 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | 2490 | 8 | ||||
| 4 | 4 | 2449 | IM | STALMACH Richard | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | 2581 | 7 | ||||
| 5 | 5 | 2659 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | GM | MA Qun | 2645 | 6 |
Round 1 Futures pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1754 | WCM | SCHIRMBECK Lilian | STARA Zuzana | 1919 | 10 | |||||
| 2 | 2 | 1839 | TOLMACEVA Alona | VITI Greta | 1971 | 9 | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1815 | WFM | JAKUBSE Tamae Severina | MARKINA Sofiia | 1891 | 8 | |||||
| 4 | 4 | 1820 | ANISTOROAEI Maria | SUNEA Sara Maria | 1854 | 7 | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | 1743 | WCM | RZADKOWSKA Lila | RZADKOWSKA Kaja | 1798 | 6 |
Time Control
The time control is 90'/40 moves + 30'/end & 30"/move.
Links
Tournament Regulations: Masters, Challengers and Futures
Prague Chess Festival: fb. twitter, instagram and youtube
