Latest news with #Vachier-Lagrave
India Today
12-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Superbet Classic: Praggnanandhaa remains in joint lead after draw with Vachier-Lagrave
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa played out a draw with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to remain in joint lead with the Frenchman after five rounds of the Superbet Classic, a part of the Grand Chess champion D Gukesh recovered a bit to draw with Duda Jan-Krzysztof of Poland in what turned out to be a rather dull day with stalemates on all five boards in the 10-player round-robin Aronian of the United States fought till the end against Firouzja Alireza of France to earn a half point. It was a similar story for Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan who had to split the point with Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania. Apart from Vachier-Lagrave and Praggnanandhaa, Fabiano Caruana remained as the third co-leader after a long-drawn battle against fellow American Wesley white, Praggnanandhaa faced the expected Sicilian Najdorf against Vachier-Lagrave and chose a lesser-known variation as his reply. However, Vachier-Lagrave, with his deep understanding on the opening, did not face any hurdles in maintaining parity even though Praggnanandhaa sacrificed a pawn in the middle game to put some pressure on the came up with a timely sacrifice, parting his rook for a knight and the activity of his remaining pieces ensured that there was no trouble. Praggnanandhaa eventually allowed a repetition and the game was drawn after 45 went for huge complications against Duda and could have lost another game. The Queen's gambit declined did not yield much for the Indian and he decided to sacrifice a piece. The game could have been drawn but Gukesh got a little ambitious and it took another blunder from Duda on the 43rd move for the Indian to get a (Round 5): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 3) drew with Maxime-Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 3); D Gukesh (Ind, 2) drew with Duda Jan-Krzysztof (Pol, 2); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 2) drew with Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 2.5); Wesley So (USA, 2.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 3); Levon Aronian (2.5) drew with Firouzja Alireza (Fra, 2.5).Must Watch
United News of India
11-05-2025
- Sport
- United News of India
Gukesh suffers maiden Classical loss as World Champion
Bucharest, May 11 (UNI) French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FIDE rating 2723) defeated reigning World Champion D Gukesh (2787) in the fourth round of the Superbet Classic, registering his first victory over the Indian teenager in Classical format. The two had met twice before in Classical games, with both encounters ending in draws. However, on Saturday, the 2021 World Blitz Champion capitalised on a critical positional error by Gukesh to claim a full point and inflict the 18-year-old's first Classical defeat since becoming World Champion. The decisive moment came on move 22, when Gukesh opted for 22...c5?, a strategic misstep that allowed White to seize the initiative. The more solid continuation might have offered Black better chances to equalise. From there, Vachier-Lagrave demonstrated flawless technique, improving his piece coordination and gradually building pressure on the queenside. Faced with an imbalanced pawn structure and lack of harmony among his pieces, Gukesh was unable to mount a meaningful defence as his queenside pawns collapsed under pressure. The win marked a significant statement by Vachier-Lagrave, reasserting his credentials among the world elite, while Gukesh will look to regroup ahead of the remaining rounds. In another encounter, India's R Praggnanandhaa (2758) held Romanian Grandmaster Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2668) to a draw. Interestingly, the two had also drawn at the same event last year, with colours reversed this time. UNI BDN SS
The Hindu
10-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Indian Chess Wrap, May 10: Praggnanandhaa in joint lead at Superbet Classic, Gukesh loses to Vachier-Lagrave
Grand Chess Tour: Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2025 World Champion D. Gukesh lost to France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the fourth round of the Superbet Classic in Romania on Saturday. The other Indian in the competition, R. Praggnanandhaa settled for a draw against Deac Bogdan-Daniel. At the end of four rounds, he had 2.5 points, putting him in the joint-lead Fabian Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave. Gukesh played with the black pieces and his opponent gained advantage through the middle game after a Scottish opening. Vachier-Lagrave managed to weaken Gukesh's queenside and forced a resignation in 31 moves. Gukesh was winless and in eighth place with 1.5 points at the end of the fourth round. Asian Individual Chess Championships 2025 Indian GrandMasters Murali Karthikeyan and P Iniyan were in joint-lead on 3.5 points with Iranian Bardiya Daneshvar after the end of the fourth round at the Asian Continental Chess Championship in Al Ain on Saturday. Karthikeyan defeated Iran's Sina Mohaved while Iniyan got the better of Meng Yihan. Pranav Anand held top seed Nihal Sarin to a draw. Sarin had three points after the result. In the women's section, Srija Sheshadri was the best performing Indian with 3.5 points. FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–2025 R. Vaishali lost to China's Zhu Jiner on Saturday at the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Austria. The Indian opted for the Sicilian defense against the King's Pawn opening by Zhu. The contest eventually moved to the French variation after Vaishali opted for e6 against Zhu's Nf3. The game moved towards a Rook-and-pawn end game, and the Chinese's advanced pawns on the a and f files eventually forced a resignation in 59 moves. The result meant Vaishali conceded her lead, and was joint-second at three points. Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk was leading with four points from as many rounds.
