Prague Masters Chess 2024: R Praggnanandhaa makes blunder, falls to Parham Maghsoodlo in second round

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa suffered a time-pressure blunder, leading to his defeat against Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran in the second round of the Prague Masters Chess tournament on February 29.

Maghsoodloo ends Praggnanandhaa's 47-game unbeaten streak

This loss marked the end of Praggnanandhaa's remarkable 47-game unbeaten streak in Classical Chess.

The 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa also lost his top ranking in live ratings among Indian players, a position reclaimed by the legendary Viswanathan Anand, who also serves as the brand ambassador for the event.

On a positive note, D Gukesh delivered an impressive performance with the black pieces, securing a victory against Nguyen Thai Dai Van of Czech Republic. The remaining three games in the 10-player round-robin event concluded in draws.

With seven rounds still ahead, Iranian GM Maghsoodloo leads with two points, half a point ahead of Gukesh and Nodirbek Abdusattarov of Uzbekistan, who drew with India’s Vidit Gujrathi.

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Praggnanandhaa thrashes Vincent Keymer in Prague Masters Chess opener

India's R Praggnanandhaa delivered an outstanding performance to defeat Germany's Vincent Keymer in the first round of the Prague Masters Chess tournament.

Praggnanandhaa, Gujrathi, Romania's Richard Rapport, and Czech Republic's David Navara are tied for the fourth spot with one point each. Vincent Keymer of Germany and Mateusz Bartel of Poland share the eighth spot with 0.5 points. Nguyen Thai Dai Van is the only player yet to score.

Praggnanandhaa fought hard but succumbed from a position he could have saved on another day. Playing the black side of a London System, the Indian easily equalised, and Maghsoodloo persisted in searching for ways to complicate the position.

In the middle game, Praggnanandhaa seemed to have the upper hand at one point, but as the clock ticked down, finishing became increasingly challenging. Maghsoodloo focused on targeting the black king, waiting for a blunder to create multiple threats. The game concluded in 38 moves.

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Gukesh's persistence paid off in his match against Dai Van, who played white in a reverse Benoni game. Gukesh steadily improved his position throughout the game, ultimately capitalizing on a tactical error by the Czech player, who sacrificed a rook for a minor piece.

Without hesitation, Gukesh transitioned to an endgame and executed a beautiful finale to seal the victory. The game lasted 52 moves.

Gujrathi accepted an early pawn sacrifice by Abdusattarov in a Four Knights opening. Despite playing with the black pieces, the Uzbek player never seemed to be in any significant danger despite being down material, and the game ended in a draw after just 35 moves.

In other matches, Mateusz Bartel had a straightforward game against Rapport, while Keymer had no trouble reaching a draw with Navara.

In the Challengers section, R Vaishali suffered her second consecutive loss against Ediz Gurel of Turkey.

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