Prague Masters 2025 R5: Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh draw their game, both remain coleaders
R Praggnanandhaa drew with Aravindh Chithambaram in Round 5 of the 7th Prague International Chess Festival 2025 Masters. Both of them maintain their lead 3.5/5. It was a well contested battle where neither player gave an inch to their opponent. Wei Yi (CHN) registered his second consecutive win of the event. His victory was the solitary one of the round against Sam Shankland (USA). Vincent Keymer (GER) missed a good opportunity against Liem Quang Le (VIE). Keymer, Anish Giri (NED), Liem and Wei are at a full point behind the leaders at a 50% score 2.5/5. A total of 17 players are trailing the leaders in Karel Janeček Open at 3.5/5 each. Among them, there are two Indians - GM Raja Rithvik R and IM Arghyadip Das. The sixth round for Masters, Challengers and Futures, and Round 4 Open starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Karel Janeček Open: Raja Rithvik R and Arghyadip Das in the chasers pack
GM Peter Leko (HUN), quite possibly the best chess commentator, joined the live stream today with IM Sagar Shah and GM Harshit Raja. FM Kanan Hajiyev (AZE) won the Blitz event. A separate report and lots of exciting games will be published on that event.
Praggnanandhaa - Aravindh: 0.5-0.5
GM R Praggnanandhaa (2758) faced GM Aravindh Chithambaram (2729) three times in Classical rated games. All of them ended in draws. This time also, the result was the same.
Shankland - Wei: 0-1
Wei Yi (CHN, 2760) has never lost a Classical rated game against Sam Shankland (USA, 2670). Wei won one and the remaining three ended in draws.
14.Qa4? was a mistake. It allowed Black to gain a decisive advantage 14...Nb3 15.Nxe5 Be6 16.Rad1 cxd4 17.Nxc4 b5 18.Qxb5 Rab8 19.Qa4 dxc3 and the passed c-pawn played a key role in scoring the full point.
GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB, 2654) had an incredible finish against FM Jachym Nemec (CZE, 2442). The game ended with four queens on the board.
Don't forget to cast your vote for the best game of Round 5. For more Round 5 photos and Karel Janeček Open 2025 Round 4 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 5 Masters games
Replay Round 5 Challengers games
Round 5 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 5
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2729 | 3,5 | 0,5 | 8,75 | 2 | |
| 2 | 4 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | IND | 2741 | 3,5 | 0,5 | 8,25 | 2 | |
| 3 | 1 | GM | KEYMER Vincent | GER | 2731 | 2,5 | 0 | 5,75 | 2 | |
| 4 | 6 | GM | GIRI Anish | NED | 2728 | 2,5 | 0 | 5,50 | 3 | |
| 5 | 5 | GM | LE Quang Liem | VIE | 2739 | 2,5 | 0 | 5,50 | 2 | |
| 6 | 10 | GM | WEI Yi | CHN | 2755 | 2,5 | 0 | 5,25 | 3 | |
| 7 | 7 | GM | NAVARA David | CZE | 2677 | 2 | 0 | 5,25 | 3 | |
| 8 | GM | GUREL Ediz | TUR | 2624 | 2 | 0 | 5,25 | 3 | ||
| 9 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | CZE | 2668 | 2 | 0 | 5,25 | 3 | ||
| 10 | 3 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | USA | 2670 | 2 | 0 | 4,75 | 2 |
Round 6 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2755 | GM | WEI Yi | GM | GUREL Ediz | 2624 | 8 | ||||
| 2 | 9 | 2668 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | GM | NAVARA David | 2677 | 7 | ||||
| 3 | 1 | 2731 | GM | KEYMER Vincent | GM | GIRI Anish | 2728 | 6 | ||||
| 4 | 2 | 2729 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | GM | LE Quang Liem | 2739 | 5 | ||||
| 5 | 3 | 2670 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | 2741 | 4 |
Round 5 Challengers results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2599 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | 1 - 0 | IM | FINEK Vaclav | 2478 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 4 | 2449 | IM | STALMACH Richard | ½ - ½ | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | 2580 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 5 | 2659 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | 1 - 0 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | 2433 | 1 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 6 | 2645 | GM | MA Qun | ½ - ½ | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | 2640 | 9 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 7 | 2581 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | 1 - 0 | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | 2490 | 8 | PGN |
Standings after Round 5
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | UZB | 2659 | 4 | 0 | 9,50 | 2 | |
| 2 | 9 | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | DEN | 2640 | 3,5 | 0 | 8,75 | 3 | |
| 3 | 3 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | ESP | 2599 | 3 | 0 | 5,75 | 2 | |
| 4 | 7 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | FRA | 2581 | 3 | 0 | 5,25 | 3 | |
| 5 | 6 | GM | MA Qun | CHN | 2645 | 2,5 | 0 | 6,75 | 3 | |
| 6 | 4 | IM | STALMACH Richard | CZE | 2449 | 2 | 1,5 | 4,50 | 2 | |
| 7 | 2 | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | GRE | 2580 | 2 | 1 | 4,25 | 2 | |
| 8 | 1 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | CZE | 2433 | 2 | 0,5 | 4,75 | 2 | |
| 9 | 8 | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | IND | 2490 | 1,5 | 0 | 3,25 | 3 | |
| 10 | IM | FINEK Vaclav | CZE | 2478 | 1,5 | 0 | 3,25 | 3 |
Round 6 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2478 | IM | FINEK Vaclav | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | 2490 | 8 | ||||
| 2 | 9 | 2640 | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | 2581 | 7 | ||||
| 3 | 1 | 2433 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | GM | MA Qun | 2645 | 6 | ||||
| 4 | 2 | 2580 | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | 2659 | 5 | ||||
| 5 | 3 | 2599 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | IM | STALMACH Richard | 2449 | 4 |
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
