XTX London Chess Classic Open 2025 R1: Praggnanandhaa and Pranav Anand make a winning start
GM R Praggnanandhaa and GM Pranav Anand made a winning start at XTX Markets London Chess Classic Open 2025. The category has a rating restriction of above 2100. Praggnanandhaa made a slightly shaky start as he got into trouble against FM Stanley Badacsonyi (ENG). However, the English could not capitalize on his opportunity and Praggnanandhaa won the game comfortably. Pranav continues his great form after winning President's Cup in Tajikistan. He defeated Sidney Panjer (GER) comfortably. The reigning National double champion, GM Iniyan Pa drew against FM Rishi Vijayakumar (SCO) after the former missed few decent chances in the game. Today is the first of two double rounds. Round 2 starts today at 10 a.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Quest to top FIDE Circuit
The first question that will pop-up on everyone's mind is - Why is Praggnanandhaa playing the 'Open' section instead of Elite or just skip this and play Global Chess League and World Rapid and Blitz instead? The answer is simple, he would prefer to extend his lead as much as possible so that his pursuers cannot catch him.
FIDE Circuit standings
| # | PLAYER | RATING | FED | CIRCUIT POINTS | EVENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Praggnanandhaa R | 2737 | IND | 107.00 | 7 VIEW |
| 2 | Giri, Anish | 2733 | NED | 81.18 | 5 VIEW |
| 3 | Caruana, Fabiano | 2805 | USA | 65.55 | 3 VIEW |
| 4 | Bluebaum, Matthias | 2650 | GER | 63.94 | 5 VIEW |
| 5 | Sindarov, Javokhir | 2682 | UZB | 63.82 | 3 VIEW |
| 6 | Keymer, Vincent | 2733 | GER | 55.83 | 4 VIEW |
| 7 | So, Wesley | 2747 | USA | 52.41 | 4 VIEW |
| 8 | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2777 | UZB | 51.99 | 5 VIEW |
| 9 | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 2668 | UZB | 50.55 | 5 VIEW |
| 10 | Carlsen, Magnus | 2831 | NOR | 43.96 | 2 VIEW |
With Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Bluebaum, Javokhir Sindarov, having already qualified for the FIDE Candidates 2026. Praggnanandhaa only needs to stretch his lead by so much that Vincent Keymer, Wesley So, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Nodirbek Yakubboev cannot catch him before the year 2025 ends.
Stanley - Praggnanandhaa
33...h5? is an unforced error. 33...Qxd7 34.Rxd7 f5 would have been fine for Black. FM Stanley Badacsonyi (ENG, 2316) correctly spotted 34.Nc5+- Rb1+ 35.Kh2 Qxd7 36.Rxd7 Nd1 37.Bd4? instead 37.Bg1 e5 38.Ne6 c3 39.Rxg7+ Kh6 40.Rc7 would have maintained the decisive advantage for White. 37...e5 38.Bg1 c3 39.Rc7 c2 40.Nd3 Nb2 41.Nxe5+ fxe5 42.Rxc2 would have still kept White in the fight. 41.Nxb2 c1Q ended things in a hurry as Black won the game soon.
The reigning National double champion, GM Iniyan Pa (2601) quite a few chances against FM Rishi Vijayakumar (SCO, 2300) but he could not capitalize on them and the game ended in a draw.
GM Pranav Anand (2581) continues his good form after winning President's Cup Republic of Tajikistan, less than a fortnight ago.
Replay all Round 1 Open games
Round 9 results
| Bo. | White | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Rtg | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FM | Badacsonyi, Stanley | 2316 | 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2768 | PGN | ||
| 2 | GM | Ivic, Velimir | 2618 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | IM | Balaji, Aaravamudhan | 2305 | PGN | ||
| 3 | FM | Koster, Ramon | 2302 | 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 | GM | Yuffa, Daniil | 2618 | PGN | ||
| 4 | GM | Iniyan, P | 2601 | 0 | ½ - ½ | 0 | FM | Vijayakumar, Rishi | 2300 | PGN | ||
| 5 | Panjer, Sidney | 2287 | 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 | GM | Pranav, Anand | 2581 | PGN | |||
| 6 | GM | Kraemer, Martin | 2571 | 0 | ½ - ½ | 0 | FM | Haydon, David L | 2284 | PGN | ||
| 7 | GM | Fernandez, Daniel H | 2501 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | FM | Kazarian, Anna-Maja *) | 2224 | PGN | ||
| 8 | Vu Dinh, Adrien | 2281 | 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 | GM | Jumabayev, Rinat | 2560 | PGN | |||
| 9 | GM | Smirin, Ilya | 2554 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | FM | Kalavannan, Koby | 2275 | PGN | ||
| 10 | FM | Noy, Eyal | 2275 | 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 | GM | Sanal, Vahap | 2546 | PGN |
Standings after Round 1
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2768 | None | 1 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Ivic, Velimir | 2618 | None | 1 | |
| 3 | 3 | GM | Yuffa, Daniil | 2618 | None | 1 | |
| 4 | 5 | GM | Pranav, Anand | 2581 | None | 1 | |
| 5 | 7 | GM | Jumabayev, Rinat | 2560 | None | 1 | |
| 6 | 8 | GM | Smirin, Ilya | 2554 | None | 1 | |
| 7 | 9 | GM | Sanal, Vahap | 2546 | None | 1 | |
| 8 | 10 | GM | Gavrilescu, David | 2542 | None | 1 | |
| 9 | 11 | GM | Maze, Sebastien | 2534 | None | 1 | |
| 10 | 13 | GM | Cornette, Matthieu | 2517 | 4NCL Celtic Tigers | 1 |
Round 2 pairings
| Bo. | White | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Rtg | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2768 | 1 | 1 | GM | Gasanov, Eldar | 2447 | |||
| 2 | IM | Roberson, Peter T | 2447 | 1 | 1 | GM | Ivic, Velimir | 2618 | |||
| 3 | GM | Yuffa, Daniil | 2618 | 1 | 1 | IM | Aizenberg, Benny | 2444 | |||
| 4 | GM | Pranav, Anand | 2581 | 1 | 1 | IM | Tica, Sven | 2441 | |||
| 5 | GM | Jumabayev, Rinat | 2560 | 1 | 1 | GM | Kovchan, Alexander | 2440 | |||
| 6 | IM | Harvey, Marcus R | 2438 | 1 | 1 | GM | Smirin, Ilya | 2554 | |||
| 7 | FM | Kazarian, Anna-Maja *) | 2224 | 0 | 0 | Khachatouri, Saro | 2100 | ||||
| 8 | GM | Sanal, Vahap | 2546 | 1 | 1 | IM | Wang, Hao | 2424 | |||
| 9 | FM | Tulchynskyi, Feliks | 2409 | 1 | 1 | GM | Gavrilescu, David | 2542 | |||
| 10 | GM | Maze, Sebastien | 2534 | 1 | 1 | IM | Efroimski, Marsel | 2384 |
Details
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