Aravindh Chithambaram on the verge of winning Prague Masters 2025
Aravindh Chithambaram drew with David Navara (CZE) in the penultimate round of 7th Prague International Chess Festival 2025 Masters. He maintains his sole lead 5.5/7. Aravindh had a small opportunity to gain the upper hand. However, he missed it. R Praggnanandhaa also drew his game against Liem Quang Le (VIE). It moved Praggnanandhaa to 5/7. Wei Yi (CHN) defeated Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE) to move to 4.5/7. Aravindh winning against Ediz Gurel (TUR) will make him a clear champion. However, a draw means, Praggnanandhaa can catch up and force tie-breaks if he manages to beat Anish Giri (NED). However, there is a mathematical possibility of a three-way tie if Aravindh loses, Praggnanandhaa draws and Wei beats Liem in the final round. Round 9 for Masters, Challengers, Futures, and Karel Janeček Open starts today at 11 a.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Challengers: Yakubboev regains sole lead
According to StaChesstics, Aravindh Chithambaram has 82.61% chances of winning the tournament. R Praggnanandhaa has 1.47% chances. Wei Yi's (CHN) chances are 0.33%. We spoke with the founder of StaChesstics, Ali Aragi. The interview will be published soon.
In the Challengers section, GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) defeated IM Richard Stalmach (CZE) to become sole leader again. IM Vaclav Finek (CZE) held GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN) to a draw. Yakubboev is at 6.5/8, a half point ahead of only pursuer, Jonas.
In the morning, the final side event of this edition, L Bughouse Open tournament took place. The All-Czechia team of Krasa-Mencik dominated the event scoring 26.5/28. A detailed report on it will be published separately featuring interview with the champion pair, lots of exciting games and more.
Aravindh - Navara: 0.5-0.5
The only time GM Aravindh Chithambaram (2731) played against the 13-time Czech Republic champion, GM David Navara (2663) was last year at 39th European Club Cup 2024. It ended in a draw.
17...Kg7? was the sole mistake made by Black. Aravindh needed to play 18.g3 d5 19.gxf4 dxe4 20.fxg5 Kg6 21.Re1 Bf5 22.f3 exf3 23.Re7 to gain a substantial advantage. Instead, he played 18.Re1 and the opportunity evaporated. We will only know tomorrow if this slight miss costs him anything.
Shankland - Giri
Sam Shankland (USA, 2670) miscalculated and initiated an incorrect series of exchange starting with 19.Rxd5? Anish Giri (NED, 2737) accepted it 19...Nxd5 20.Nxd5 exd5 21.Qxe7 Rxb3 Black returned the exchange to weaken the white king 22.cxb3 Bf5+ 23.Ka1 Qxb3 24.Qa3 Qc2 and Black went on to win this.
Wei - Thai Dai Van
Black has to move his king after 71.Rc7+ but where is it safe? After more than five hours of grueling battle, tiredness and fatigue set in, combined with the fact that Black was low on time. He blundered 71...Kd4?? and lost the game in a hurry. Where should have Black moved the king to ensure the game ended in a draw?
Don't forget to cast your vote for the best game of Round 8. For more Round 8 photos and Karel Janeček Open 2025 Round 8 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 8 Masters games
Replay Round 8 Challengers games
Round 8 Masters results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2755 | GM | WEI Yi | 1 - 0 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | 2668 | 9 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 1 | 2731 | GM | KEYMER Vincent | ½ - ½ | GM | GUREL Ediz | 2624 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 2 | 2729 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | ½ - ½ | GM | NAVARA David | 2677 | 7 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2670 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | 0 - 1 | GM | GIRI Anish | 2728 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 4 | 2741 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | ½ - ½ | GM | LE Quang Liem | 2739 | 5 | PGN |
Standings after Round 8
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2729 | 5,5 | 0 | 21,50 | 3 | |
| 2 | 4 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | IND | 2741 | 5 | 0 | 18,75 | 3 | |
| 3 | 10 | GM | WEI Yi | CHN | 2755 | 4,5 | 0 | 16,00 | 4 | |
| 4 | 1 | GM | KEYMER Vincent | GER | 2731 | 4 | 1 | 15,50 | 3 | |
| 5 | 8 | GM | GUREL Ediz | TUR | 2624 | 4 | 1 | 14,75 | 5 | |
| 6 | 6 | GM | GIRI Anish | NED | 2728 | 4 | 1 | 14,50 | 5 | |
| 7 | 7 | GM | NAVARA David | CZE | 2677 | 3,5 | 0 | 14,25 | 5 | |
| 8 | 5 | GM | LE Quang Liem | VIE | 2739 | 3,5 | 0 | 14,25 | 4 | |
| 9 | 3 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | USA | 2670 | 3,5 | 0 | 14,00 | 3 | |
| 10 | 9 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | CZE | 2668 | 2,5 | 0 | 10,00 | 5 |
Round 9 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 2739 | GM | LE Quang Liem | GM | WEI Yi | 2755 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 6 | 2728 | GM | GIRI Anish | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | 2741 | 4 | ||||
| 3 | 7 | 2677 | GM | NAVARA David | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | 2670 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 8 | 2624 | GM | GUREL Ediz | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | 2729 | 2 | ||||
| 5 | 9 | 2668 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | GM | KEYMER Vincent | 2731 | 1 |
Round 8 Challengers results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2478 | IM | FINEK Vaclav | ½ - ½ | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | 2640 | 9 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 1 | 2433 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | ½ - ½ | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | 2490 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 2 | 2580 | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | 0 - 1 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | 2581 | 7 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2599 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | ½ - ½ | GM | MA Qun | 2645 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 4 | 2449 | IM | STALMACH Richard | 0 - 1 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | 2659 | 5 | PGN |
Standings after Round 8
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | UZB | 2659 | 6,5 | 0 | 23,25 | 4 | |
| 2 | 9 | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | DEN | 2640 | 6 | 0 | 22,25 | 5 | |
| 3 | 7 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | FRA | 2581 | 5 | 0 | 14,75 | 5 | |
| 4 | 6 | GM | MA Qun | CHN | 2645 | 4,5 | 0 | 17,50 | 5 | |
| 5 | 3 | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | ESP | 2599 | 4 | 0 | 13,75 | 3 | |
| 6 | 10 | IM | FINEK Vaclav | CZE | 2478 | 3,5 | 0 | 11,50 | 4 | |
| 7 | 2 | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | GRE | 2580 | 3 | 0,5 | 12,00 | 3 | |
| 8 | 4 | IM | STALMACH Richard | CZE | 2449 | 3 | 0,5 | 10,25 | 3 | |
| 9 | 1 | FM | NEMEC Jachym | CZE | 2433 | 2,5 | 0 | 8,25 | 3 | |
| 10 | 8 | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | IND | 2490 | 2 | 0 | 6,50 | 5 |
Round 9 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 2659 | GM | YAKUBBOEV Nodirbek | IM | FINEK Vaclav | 2478 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 6 | 2645 | GM | MA Qun | IM | STALMACH Richard | 2449 | 4 | ||||
| 3 | 7 | 2581 | GM | MAURIZZI Marc`andria | GM | SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan | 2599 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 8 | 2490 | IM | DIVYA Deshmukh | GM | KOURKOULOS-ARDITIS Stamatis | 2580 | 2 | ||||
| 5 | 9 | 2640 | GM | BJERRE Jonas Buhl | FM | NEMEC Jachym | 2433 | 1 |
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
