Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa showcased his strategic prowess by drawing with American Wesley So in the Super Chess Classic, while Germany’s Vincent Keymer continues to lead the tournament.
Photograph: Crystal Fuller/FIDE
Key Points
- R Praggnanandhaa draws with Wesley So in the fifth round of the Super Chess Classic.
- Vincent Keymer maintains his lead in the Super Chess Classic tournament.
- Several other games in the Super Chess Classic also ended in draws.
- Alireza Firouzja returns to the tournament after an ankle injury.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa played out his fourth draw, signing peace with American Wesley So in the fifth round of the Super Chess Classic, a part of the Grand Chess Tour.
On a day without any decisive games, Germany’s Vincent Keymer maintained his half-point lead, moving up to 3.5 points. Praggnanandhaa shares the second spot with Dutch duo of Anish Giri and Jorden Van Foreest.
Key Players and Standings in the Chess Tournament
France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So share fifth place on 2.5 points each, while Fabiano Caruana of the United States and World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan trail closely on two points, with the latter having one game in hand.
Romanian Bogdan-Daniel Deac is ninth spot on 1.5 points, a half point ahead of Alireza Firouzja of France.
Draws Dominate Round 5 of Super Chess Classic
In the other games of the day, Keymer drew with the black pieces against Giri, Vachier-Lagrave shared the point with van Foreest, Sindarov drew with Firouzja, and Deac held Caruana to a draw.
Praggnanandhaa chose the Berlin defense against So, who did not show much intensity in the initial phase of the closed variation. As many as three minor pieces changed hands early in the middle game but thereafter Wesley gained the upper hand with some breakthrough on the king side.
Praggnanandhaa, to his credit, stayed put with some counter play and So just decided to repeat the position. The game lasted 45 moves.
Firouzja’s Return and Other Game Highlights
Firouzja returned to the tournament after missing the previous round. The Frenchman had injured his ankle after the third round and requested permission to play his game against Sindarov from his room. The game eventually ended in a draw.
Keymer also chose the Berlin defense and faced little problems against Giri. The players quickly reached a rook-and-minor-piece endgame where the draw was a just result in a mere 32 moves.
Tuesday is the lone rest day in the tournament and the battle will resume on Wednesday with just four rounds remaining in this USD 3,50,000 prize money tournament.
Results round 5
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Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 2.5) drew with Jorden Van Foreest (Ned, 3); Wesley So (USA, 2.5) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 3); Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Rou, 1.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2); Aiireza Firouzja (Fra, 1) drew with Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 2); Anish Giri (Ned, 3) drew with Vincent Keymer (Ger, 3.5).
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