Aravindh Chithambaram dominates Prague Masters 2025 with a 2829 performance
Aravindh Chithambaram drew Ediz Gurel (TUR) to become the champion of 7th Prague International Chess Festival 2025 Masters. Anish Giri's (NED) victory over R Praggnanandhaa ensured Aravindh's clear first place finish with a 6/9 score. Anish finished second 5/9. Wei Yi (CHN) drew with Liem Quang Le (VIE) to finish third with the same score 5/9. Aravindh's performance rating at this event was 2829. He gained a valuable 12 Elo rating points, taking him to World no.14 in the live ratings. Those who have followed Aravindh's career always knew and believed him to have the potential to reach here and beyond. Him winning two Classical super tournaments in-a-row with the exact same rating performance is also quite unique. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Aravindh wins his second consecutive super tournament
Aravindh Chithambaram is a humble and soft-spoken powerhouse. He mentioned that he had difficulty sleeping once he got into the sole lead. It was evident during his games. Most importantly, he always believed in himself that he has a very good potential. We all are seeing him realize it now as he grabs every single great opportunity that is presented to him. He also mentioned that he is getting a lot of invitations. We cannot wait to see what's in store for the new World-class level which Aravindh has unlocked within himself recently. Challengers and Futures report will be published separately.
The champion won the award for his seventh round win over Anish Giri. He received it from the legend, GM Peter Leko (HUN) in presence of Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam (NED), Editor-in-Chief, New In Chess and Petr Boleslav (CZE), Tournament Director.
Gurel - Aravindh: 0.5-0.5
GM Aravindh Chithambaram (2731) faced GM Ediz Gurel (TUR, 2620) only once earlier at World Blitz 2023 which Aravindh won. This time, Aravindh needed just a draw to secure Playoff. As it turned out, it was enough for him to become a clear champion, thanks to an assist by Anish Giri.
Giri - Praggnanandhaa
GM R Praggnanandhaa (2758) was virtually in a must-win situation. So he had no choice but to take whatever chance he could 20...Ndxe5 21.fxe5 Nxe5 22.Qc2 Bd7 23.a3 h4 24.h3 c5 25.Bxd5 White returned the material to improve the placement of his bishops cxd4 26.Bxd4 Rb8? 27.Ne4 Bg4?? 28.Bxf7+! the position completely shifted in White's favor.
For more Round 9 and Prize distribution ceremony photos, please click at 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 9 Masters games
Round 9 Masters results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 2739 | GM | LE Quang Liem | ½ - ½ | GM | WEI Yi | 2755 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 6 | 2728 | GM | GIRI Anish | 1 - 0 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | 2741 | 4 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 7 | 2677 | GM | NAVARA David | ½ - ½ | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | 2670 | 3 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 8 | 2624 | GM | GUREL Ediz | ½ - ½ | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | 2729 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 9 | 2668 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | ½ - ½ | GM | KEYMER Vincent | 2731 | 1 | PGN |
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2729 | 6 | 0 | 26,75 | 4 | |
| 2 | 6 | GM | GIRI Anish | NED | 2728 | 5 | 1,5 | 21,50 | 5 | |
| 3 | 10 | GM | WEI Yi | CHN | 2755 | 5 | 1 | 20,25 | 5 | |
| 4 | 4 | GM | PRAGGNANANDHAA R | IND | 2741 | 5 | 0,5 | 21,25 | 4 | |
| 5 | 8 | GM | GUREL Ediz | TUR | 2624 | 4,5 | 0,5 | 19,75 | 5 | |
| 6 | 1 | GM | KEYMER Vincent | GER | 2731 | 4,5 | 0,5 | 19,25 | 4 | |
| 7 | 3 | GM | SHANKLAND Sam | USA | 2670 | 4 | 1,5 | 17,50 | 4 | |
| 8 | 7 | GM | NAVARA David | CZE | 2677 | 4 | 1 | 18,00 | 5 | |
| 9 | 5 | GM | LE Quang Liem | VIE | 2739 | 4 | 0,5 | 18,50 | 4 | |
| 10 | 9 | GM | NGUYEN Thai Dai Van | CZE | 2668 | 3 | 0 | 13,75 | 5 |
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
