Harikrishna clinches Prague Chess Masters 2022 convincingly
Pentala Harikrishna defeated Spain no.2 David Anton Guijarro emphatically in the final round to win Prague Chess Masters 2022. Harikrishna accepted Anton's knight sacrifice in the middlegame and once again for the second time in this event, he showed his endgame prowess. He scored the sole win of the round and Liem could not manage to win the game. Thus, he finished a half point behind to finish second. Local talent, Nguyen Thai Dai Van scored 5/9 to secure third place. Vidit drew his final round game to be placed seventh 4/9. Sasikiran finished the event on a winning note to finish fourth 5/9 in the Challengers section. Photo: Prague International Chess Festival
Harikrishna is now World #25
Pentala Harikrishna has hit his form at the right time. With the 44th Chess Olympiad being a little over a month away, the entire team India and the country would be delighted of his triumph. Harikrishna has also moved to World no. 25 in the live ratings.
Masters: Harikrishna - Anton: 1-0
Pentala Harikrishna (2701) scored an emphatic victory in the final round against David Anton Guijarro (ESP, 2692).
Black opted for the bold 22...f5. White pounced on his opportunity 23.f3 Qxg3 24.fxe4 dxe4 25.Qc2 Rd3 26.Qf2 and White went on to win the game. Although Black had a tiny window to get back in the game after 26...Qg5 27.h4 Qg4 28.Re3 Rxe3 29.Qxe3, he needed to go f4 here. Instead, 29...Qxh4 allowed White to prevent f4 with 30.Rf1.
Challengers: Sasikiran - Abdusattorov: 0.5-0.5
Krishnan Sasikiran (2635) scored a prolonged victory over Jiri Stocek (CZE, 2541).
Black could have finished things much earlier 37...Qb1+ 38.Kh2 Qe1 threatening attack on the back rank via Rb1, followed by Qg1/h1.
Suyog Wagh scores second IM-norm
A little over four months after scoring his maiden IM-norm, FM Suyog Wagh earned his second IM-norm at the Open event. He scored 6.5/9 with a performance of 2443, including a win over GM Harshit Raja in the final round. Suyog now needs his final IM-norm and 2400 in the live ratings to become the next International Master of India.
Replay Round 9 Masters games
Replay Round 9 Challengers games
Schedule
The Round-Robin tournament will take place from 8th to 17th June 2022. Every day except the last round, games will start at 3 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. IST). Sunday 12th June is a rest day. The ninth round game on 17th June will start at 11 a.m. local time (2:30 p.m. IST).
Masters Round 9 results
Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
1 | 5 | 2701 | GM | Harikrishna Pentala | 1 - 0 | GM | Anton Guijarro David | 2692 | 10 | ||
2 | 6 | 2723 | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | ½ - ½ | GM | Salem A.R. Saleh | 2679 | 4 | ||
3 | 7 | 2703 | GM | Vallejo Pons Francisco | ½ - ½ | GM | Le Quang Liem | 2709 | 3 | ||
4 | 8 | 2718 | GM | Shankland Sam | ½ - ½ | GM | Nguyen Thai Dai Van | 2610 | 2 | ||
5 | 9 | 2716 | GM | Maghsoodloo Parham | ½ - ½ | GM | Navara David | 2681 | 1 |
Final standings after Round 9
Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
1 | 5 | GM | Harikrishna Pentala | IND | 2701 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 25,75 | 4 | |
2 | 3 | GM | Le Quang Liem | VIE | 2709 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 26,00 | 4 | |
3 | 2 | GM | Nguyen Thai Dai Van | CZE | 2610 | 5,0 | 1,0 | 21,00 | 4 | |
4 | 8 | GM | Shankland Sam | USA | 2718 | 5,0 | 1,0 | 20,50 | 5 | |
5 | 1 | GM | Navara David | CZE | 2681 | 5,0 | 1,0 | 19,50 | 4 | |
6 | 7 | GM | Vallejo Pons Francisco | ESP | 2703 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 19,25 | 5 | |
7 | 6 | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2723 | 4,0 | 0,5 | 17,25 | 5 | |
8 | 9 | GM | Maghsoodloo Parham | IRI | 2716 | 4,0 | 0,5 | 17,00 | 5 | |
9 | 4 | GM | Salem A.R. Saleh | UAE | 2679 | 3,0 | 0,0 | 10,75 | 4 | |
10 | 10 | GM | Anton Guijarro David | ESP | 2692 | 2,0 | 0,0 | 9,50 | 5 |
Challengers Round 9 results
Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
1 | 5 | 2577 | GM | Michalik Peter | ½ - ½ | GM | Hracek Zbynek | 2564 | 10 | ||
2 | 6 | 2535 | GM | Krzyzanowski Marcin | 0 - 1 | GM | Niemann Hans Moke | 2678 | 4 | ||
3 | 7 | 2661 | GM | Abdusattorov Nodirbek | ½ - ½ | GM | Pechac Jergus | 2598 | 3 | ||
4 | 8 | 2541 | GM | Stocek Jiri | 0 - 1 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | 2635 | 2 | ||
5 | 9 | 2613 | GM | Warmerdam Max | 0 - 1 | GM | Keymer Vincent | 2675 | 1 |
Final standings after Round 9
Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
1 | 1 | GM | Keymer Vincent | GER | 2675 | 6,5 | 0,5 | 26,75 | 4 | |
4 | GM | Niemann Hans Moke | USA | 2678 | 6,5 | 0,5 | 26,75 | 4 | ||
3 | 7 | GM | Abdusattorov Nodirbek | UZB | 2661 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 24,75 | 5 | |
4 | 2 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | IND | 2635 | 5,0 | 0,0 | 18,25 | 4 | |
5 | 3 | GM | Pechac Jergus | SVK | 2598 | 4,0 | 0,5 | 19,00 | 4 | |
6 | 9 | GM | Warmerdam Max | NED | 2613 | 4,0 | 0,5 | 14,00 | 5 | |
7 | 6 | GM | Krzyzanowski Marcin | POL | 2535 | 3,5 | 1,0 | 16,25 | 5 | |
8 | 8 | GM | Stocek Jiri | CZE | 2541 | 3,5 | 0,0 | 16,75 | 5 | |
9 | 10 | GM | Hracek Zbynek | CZE | 2564 | 3,0 | 0,5 | 11,75 | 5 | |
10 | 5 | GM | Michalik Peter | CZE | 2577 | 3,0 | 0,5 | 10,75 | 4 |
Time Control
The time control is 90'/40 moves + 30'/end & 30"/move.
Links
Prague Chess Festival: fb. twitter, instagram and youtube
Update: 27/06/2022 - FM Suyog Wagh's second IM-norm details added.