Prague Chess Festival

[Hans Jung]

https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2019..._Jan_Krzysztof Two knights in the endgame, oh joy, oh bliss. Youngsters arent supposed to play the endgame that well but GM Duda is something else!

[Wayne Komer]

Prague Chess Festival 2019

March 7, 2019

The Masters is a 10-player round-robin tournament organized by Nový Bor Chess Club, taking place from 6-15 Marchin hotel Don Giovanni in Prague, Czech Republic. Players receive 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment starting from move one.

All rounds start at 14:00 UTC

From the official site:

ROUND 1 REPORT

The inaugural Prague International Chess Festival started today in Prague, with Masters and Challengers tournaments. Both events feature some of the strongest chess players in the World, as well as the best Czech players.
The ticket to Masters event for the winner of Challengers group seems to be a big motivation for the players, as already at start of the tournament we had 4 decisive results in the B tournament.

The first one to score was Polish GM Mateusz Bartel, who defeated Indian rising star R.Praggnanandhaa, and he went in history as the first winner of the Prague Chess Festival.

Russian Grandmaster David Paravyan scored a nice attacking victory with White pieces, after his opponent Jiri Stocek mixed his prep and made mistake in the opening. In all Spanish derby between top two seeds of the event, the 23-year-old David Anton Guijarro celebrated a victory. After the game, he was very kind to share his impressions and thoughts about the game with the audience in the commentary room.

Peter Michalik celebrated an important victory with Black pieces against his fellow countryman Jan Krejci, after making few good strategic decisions in the middle game. The only draw in Challengers group was agreed between young Czech star Thai Dai Van Nguyen and Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun in an equal Bishop endgame.

In the Masters event the things were quite opposite. Four games ended with the peaceful result, although most of them were fighting draws. The only decisive result happened in the game Richard Rapport vs Jan-Krzysztof Duda. The young Polish Grandmaster, who is known for great speed chess performances, showed that he can do as well in the classical games too! The Hungarian had the edge after the opening, but he misplayed the position in the time trouble ended up with a piece down. Duda played precisely and kept his cool, to eventually win in 94 moves.

David Navara didn't manage to convert his game against Boris Gelfand, even though he had a very promising position. The game was opened with Petroff, and after several moves it was clear that Czech #1 was confident with his home preparation, as he was playing fast, leaving Gelfand much behind on clock. Navara sacrificed the exchange, and forced the Israeli player to give up his Queen, however it was not enough for a full point, and the draw was made in 100 moves.

http://www.praguechessfestival.com/h...round-1-report

The game of the day in Round One

Round 1, March 6
Challengers
Praggnanandhaa, R. – Bartel, Mateusz
C77 Ruy Lopez, Morphy Defence, Duras variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c4 Be7 7.h3 O-O 8.O-O Nd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Nd2 Rb8 11.f4 b5 12.Bb3 c5 13.e5 Ne8 14.Qh5 bxc4 15.Bxc4 d5 16.Bb3 g6 17.Qf3 Be6 18.f5 gxf5 19.Qe2 Kh8 20.Nf3 Rg8 21.Kh2 Rg6 22.Bf4 Ng7 23.Nd2 Bg5 24.Rac1 Bxf4+ 25.Rxf4 Qg5 26.Rf2 Nh5 27.Qf3 Rbg8 28.Rxc5 Qh4 29.Nf1 f4 30.Rfc2 Rg3 31.Nxg3 Rxg3 32.Qf1 f3 33.Bxd5 Bxd5 34.Rxd5 fxg2 0-1

Round 1, March 6
Masters
Rapport, Richard – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B08 Pirc, Classical System

1.Nf3 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Be2 Nf6 5.Nc3 O-O 6.O-O c6 7.a4 Qc7 8.h3 e5 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Be3 Re8 11.Bc4 Be6 12.Qe2 Nbd7 13.Bxe6 Rxe6 14.Rfd1 Bf8 15.Qc4 Nb6 16.Qb3 Nc8 17.Rd3 Nd6 18.Ng5 Ree8 19.Bc5 Red8 20.Rad1 Nfe8 21.Nf3 b6 22.Be3 Nb7 23.Qc4 a6 24.Rxd8 Nxd8 25.Qd3 Ne6 26.Qd7 Bd6 27.Qxc7 Bxc7 28.Na2 a5 29.Rd3 f6 30.Rc3 Nd8 31.Nd2 Kf7 32.Nc1 Rb8 33.Nd3 Ke7 34.g4 Kd7 35.Nc4 Ne6 36.b4 Nd6 37.Ncxe5+ fxe5 38.Nxe5+ Kc8 39.Nxc6 Nxe4 40.Rb3 Ra8 41.Ne7+ Kb7 42.Nd5 Kc6 43.Nxc7 Kxc7 44.bxa5 bxa5 45.Rb5 Nc3 46.Bb6+ Kc6 47.Rxa5 Rxa5 48.Bxa5 Nxa4 49.Kg2 Kd5 50.Kg3 Nac5 51.f3 Nd4 52.h4 Nce6 53.Bd2 Ne2+ 54.Kf2 N2f4 55.Kg3 Ke5 56.Bc3+ Kd6 57.Bb4+ Kd7 58.Bd2 Ne2+ 59.Kf2 N2d4 60.c3 Nb3 61.Bh6 Kd6 62.Ke3 Nbc5 63.f4 Kd5 64.f5 gxf5 65.gxf5 Nd8 66.Bg7 Nf7 67.Bd4 Nb7 68.Kf4 Nbd6 69.Bg7 Kc4 70.Be5 Nb7 71.Bg7 Kd3 72.Be5 Nc5 73.Bd4 Na4 74.f6 Kc4 75.Ke4 Nb2 76.Be3 Nd3 77.Kf5 Kd5 78.c4+ Kd6 79.c5+ Kd5 80.c6 Nd6+ 81.Kg5 Nf7+ 82.Kf5 Nde5 83.c7 Nd6+ 84.Kf4 Nef7 85.Ba7 Kc6 86.Bb8 Kd7 87.h5 Nc8 88.Ke4 Ke6 89.Kd4 Kxf6 90.Kd5 Ne5 91.Kc5 Ke6 92.Kd4 Ng4 93.Ke4 Nf6+ 94.Kf4 h6 0-1

Position after Black’s 78….Kd6



Round 2, March 7
Vitiugov, Nikita – Harikrishna, Pentala
C67 Ruy Lopez, open Berlin Defence, l’Hermet variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.dxe5 Nxb5 7.a4 Nbd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d5 10.Qd3 c6 11.a5 Be6 12.Nc3 Qd7 13.Ne2 Bf5 14.Qc3 Be7 15.Bh6 d4 16.Nxd4 gxh6 17.e6 Bxe6 18.Nxe6 Rg8 19.Nf4 Qf5 20.Ra4 Qf6 21.Qd3 Rd8 22.Qxh7 Rg7 23.Qe4 Qxb2 24.Re1 Rd7 25.a6 Rg5 26.h4 Rb5 27.axb7 Rbxb7 28.Qxc6 Kf8 29.Qxh6+ Qg7 30.Ne6+ 1-0

Round 2, March 7
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Rapport, Richard
E94 King’s Indian, Orthodox variation

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Qe8 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.b4 Bg4 10.b5 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Qe6 12.Nd5 Rc8 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.Be3 Rd8 15.Qb3 Nd7 16.c5 c6 17.Rfd1 Bf8 18.Rac1 Be7 19.Be2 Nf8 20.bxc6 bxc6 21.Bc4 Kg7 22.Qb7 Rab8 23.Qa6 Nd7 24.Qa5 h5 25.h3 g5 26.Rd3 g4 27.hxg4 hxg4 28.Rcd1 g3 29.Rxd7 Rxd7 30.Rxd7 Qe6 31.Qc7 Rb1+ 32.Bf1 gxf2+ 33.Bxf2 Rxf1+ 34.Kxf1 Qc4+ 35.Ke1 Qxe4+ 36.Kd1 Qa4+ 37.Ke2 Qg4+ 38.Kd2 Qb4+ 39.Ke2 Qg4+ 40.Kd2 Qb4+ 41.Kd3 Qb1+ 42.Ke2 Qc2+ 43.Rd2 Qe4+ 44.Kf1 Qb1+ 45.Be1 Qf5+ 46.Rf2 Qd3+ 47.Re2 Qf5+ 48.Bf2 Qb1+ 49.Re1 1-0

Round 2, March 7
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Laznicka, Viktor
A09 Reti, Advance variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 Bg4 4.Qb3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 c6 6.g3 e5 7.b5 Nf6 8.Bg2 Be7 9.d3 O-O 10.O-O a6 11.Nd2 Qc7 12.bxc6 Nxc6 13.h4 Rab8 14.Rb1 Nd8 15.Ne4 Nd7 16.Bg5 f6 17.Bd2 f5 18.Ng5 Kh8 19.g4 f4 20.Ne4 Ne6 21.g5 Ndc5 22.Nxc5 Nxc5 23.Bb4 b6 24.Qc6 Qa7 25.Bxc5 Bxc5 26.Qe6 Rbe8 27.Qh3 Qe7 28.Bc6 Rd8 29.Kg2 Rd6 30.Be4 Qe8 31.Qf3 Rf7 32.Qh5 g6 33.Qf3 h5 34.gxh6 Rh7 35.Rh1 Rxh6 36.Rbg1 Re6 37.Qg4 Re7 38.Kf3 Rg7 39.Qg5 Rh5 40.Qf6 Qe7 41.Rxg6 1-0

__________

SOLVING COMPETITION



White to move and mate in 2 moves.

Solutions are accepted at the e-mail address info@praguechessfestival.com until 7. 3. 2019 23:59:59 CET

The winner will be randomly selected amongst correct answers and awarded a bottle of fine Georgian wine. © Yochanan Afek

[Wayne Komer]

Prague Chess Festival 2019

March 8, 2019

Round Three

Results

Gelfand-Shankland 1-0
Laznicka-Wojtaszek 0.5-0.5
Rapport-Vidit 0.5-0.5
Navara-Vitiugov 0.5-0.5
Harikrishna-Duda 1-0

Round 3, Mar. 8
Gelfand, Boris – Shankland, Samuel
D12 QGD

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 a6 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Qb3 Qc7 8.cxd5 Nxe5 9.dxe5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 cxd5 11.Bd2 Qxe5 12.Rc1 Bd7 13.Qb6 Qd6 14.Qxb7 Rb8 15.Qa7 Rxb2 16.Bxa6 f6 17.a4 Bxa4 18.Bc3 Rb8 19.Bd3 Bc6 20.O-O Ra8 21.Qb6 Rb8 22.Qa6 Ra8 23.Qb6 Rb8 24.Qa6 Ra8 25.Bb4 Rxa6 26.Bxd6 Rb6 27.Rxc6 Rxc6 28.Bb5 exd6 29.Bxc6+ Kf7 30.Bxd5+ Kg6 31.Rb1 Be7 32.Rb7 Rc8 33.g4 Bd8 34.Be6 Rc1+ 35.Kg2 Bc7 36.Ra7 h5 37.h3 hxg4 38.hxg4 Kh7 39.Ra8 Bb6 40.Rb8 Ba5 41.Rf8 Rc7 42.Bg8+ Kh6 43.Bd5 Re7 44.Rh8+ Kg6 45.f4 f5 46.gxf5+ Kxf5 47.Kf3 Kg6 48.e4 Rd7 49.Ra8 Bb6 50.Kg4 Rd8 51.Ra6 Rb8 52.e5 dxe5 53.fxe5 Kh7 54.e6 Bd8 55.Ra7 Bf6 56.Be4+ Kg8 57.e7 Kf7 58.Bd5+ Kg6 59.e8=Q+ 1-0

Position after 39.Ra8




Chessbomb kibitzers:

- Black in the endgame with no pieces developed

- At move 29: I can beat you without moving a bishop and a rook for 30 moves (Shankland to Gelfand)
- Really, a big mistake

Round 3, Mar. 8
Harikrishna, Pentala – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B30 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Qc7 5.O-O Nd4 6.Re1 a6 7.Bf1 Ng4 8.e5 Nxf3+ 9.Qxf3 Nxe5 10.Qh5 Ng6 11.Nd5 Qd6 12.d4 cxd4 13.Bd2 e6 14.Ba5 b6 15.Bxb6 Nf4 16.Qh4 Be7 17.Nxe7 Qxb6 18.Nxc8 Rxc8 19.Qxf4 Rxc2 20.b3 O-O 21.Red1 Qa5 22.Qxd4 Rxa2 23.Rxa2 Qxa2 24.Qa4 Qc2 25.Rxd7 g6 26.g3 a5 27.Ra7 Rb8 28.Rxf7 1-0

___________

SOLVING COMPETITION







White to move and mate in 2 moves. Solutions are accepted at the e-mail address info@praguechessfestival.com until 08 Mar 2019 23:59:59 CET

The winner will be randomly selected amongst correct answers and awarded a bottle of fine Georgian wine. © Yochanan Afek


Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

In this puzzle by Jochanan Afek the only correct solution is 1. Qf6! and next White's move leads to inevitable mate.

[Wayne Komer]

Prague Chess Festival 2019

March 9, 2019

Round Four

Results

Rapport-Lanicka 1-0
Duda-Navara 1-0
Vitiugov-Gelfand 0.5-0.5
Vidit-Shankland 0-1
Wojtaszek-Karikrishna 0.5-0.5

Standings after Round Four

1 Duda 3
2-3 Vitiugov, Wojtaszek 2.5
4-7 Shankland, Gelfand, Vidit, Harikrishna 2
8-9 Navara, Rapport 1.5
10 Laznicka 1

Round 4, Mar. 9
Rapport, Richard – Laznicka, Viktor
C28 Vienna game

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d3 Na5 5.Bb3 Nxb3 6.axb3 d5 7.Nf3 dxe4 8.dxe4 Qxd1+ 9.Kxd1 Bd6 10.Bg5 Nd7 11.Ke2 a6 12.Rhd1 Rb8 13.Nd2 b5 14.Nf1 Nc5 15.Ng3 Ne6 16.Be3 g6 17.Nd5 Nf4+ 18.Kf1 Nxd5 19.Rxd5 Bb7 20.Rd3 h5 21.f3 Ke7 22.Nh1 f5 23.Bg5+ Ke6 24.Nf2 Rhf8 25.Ke2 Ra8 26.Bh6 Rfb8 27.Bd2 b4 28.c4 a5 29.Be3 Ra6 30.Rdd1 f4 31.Bd2 g5 32.g3 Rba8 33.gxf4 gxf4 34.Rg1 a4 35.Rg7 a3 36.Rag1 Rf8 37.Nh3 Be7 38.Bxb4 1-0

Round 4, Mar. 9
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Navara, David
D30 QGD Slav

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 e6 5.Nbd2 c5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.a3 a5 8.Qc2 O-O 9.b3 b6 10.Bb2 Bb7 11.Bd3 Nbd7 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Bd4 Bxd4 14.Nxd4 Ne5 15.Be2 Ne4 16.O-O Qc8 17.Qa2 Nc3 18.Qb2 Nxe2+ 19.Nxe2 Nd3 20.Qb1 Ba6 21.Rd1 Re8 22.Nf3 Ne5 23.Nxe5 Bxe2 24.Rc1 Qb7 25.Qb2 Bh5 26.Nd3 f6 27.Nf4 Bf7 28.h3 d4 29.Qxd4 Bxb3 30.a4 b5 31.axb5 a4 32.Rc5 Rec8 33.Ne2 Qe7 34.Rxa4 Rxc5 35.Rxa8+ Kf7 36.b6 Rd5 37.Ra7 Rxd4 38.Nxd4 Bd5 39.Rxe7+ Kxe7 40.Nf5+ 1-0

Round 4, Mar. 9
Vitiugov, Nikita – Gelfand, Boris
B33 Sicilian, Sveshnikov

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Rb8 12.Nc2 Bg5 13.Be2 O-O 14.O-O Be6 15.Qd3 a5 16.Rfd1 b4 17.Nce3 bxc3 18.bxc3 Ne7 19.a4 Nxd5 20.Nxd5 Rb2 21.Rab1 Qb8 22.c4 g6 23.Rxb2 Qxb2 24.Rb1 Qa2 25.Qd1 Bxd5 26.exd5 e4 27.Ra1 Qb2 28.Rb1 Qa3 29.Qb3 Qxb3 30.Rxb3 Bd2 31.Rb7 Bb4 32.Re7 f5 33.c5 Bxc5 34.Bb5 Rf7 35.Rxf7 Kxf7 36.Kf1 Kf6 37.Ke2 Ke5 38.Bc6 Bb6 39.Bb7 Bd8 40.Bc6 Bg5 41.Bb7 Bf4 42.h3 Bg5 43.Bc6 Bd8 44.Bb7 h5 45.Bc6 h4 46.f3 Bb6 47.fxe4 Kxe4 48.Bb7 Kf4 49.Bc6 Bc5 50.Be8 g5 51.Bd7 g4 52.Be6 gxh3 53.gxh3 Ke4 54.Bd7 f4 55.Bc6 f3+ 56.Kf1 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Mar. 9
Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi – Shankland, Samuel
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Qa4+ Nd7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.Be2 e5 10.Ba3 Re8 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Rd1 Bd7 13.Qb3 Nxf3+ 14.gxf3 Qc8 15.h4 Be6 16.c4 Rd8 17.Rxd8+ Qxd8 18.Bb2 Bd4 19.Kf1 Rb8 20.Qa3 Qf6 21.Qxa7 Rd8 22.Bxd4 Rxd4 23.Qb8+ Qd8 24.Qxb7 Rd2 25.Qa7 Qf6 26.Qxc7 h5 27.Qb8+ Kh7 28.Qb3 Qd4 29.Qe3 Qb2 30.f4 Qc2 31.Bf3 Rd3 32.Qe2 Qc3 33.f5 gxf5 34.Kg2 Rd2 35.Qe1 Qg7+ 36.Kh2 Qd4 37.Kg2 Qg7+ 38.Kh2 Qd4 39.Kg2 f4 40.e5 Kh6 41.Rf1 Bxc4 42.Rg1 Rxa2 43.Kh1 Rxf2 44.Qb4 Qd8 45.Qd6+ Qxd6 46.exd6 Rxf3 47.Rd1 Rh3+ 48.Kg2 Rg3+ 49.Kf2 Rg8 50.Kf3 Rd8 51.Kxf4 Kg6 52.Ke5 f6+ 0-1

_________

SOLVING COMPETITION



White to move and mate in 2 moves. Solutions are accepted at the e-mail address info@praguechessfestival.com until 09 Mar 2019 23:59:59 CET

The winner will be randomly selected amongst correct answers and awarded a bottle of fine Georgian wine. © Yochanan Afek

In the puzzle from yesterday by Yochanan Afek, the only correct solution is 1. Nb3! and next White's move leads to inevitable mate.

[Wayne Komer]

Prague Chess Festival 2019

March 10, 2019

Round Five

Results (Masters)

Harikrishna-Rapport 0.5-0.5
Laznicka-Vidit 0.5-0.5
Shankland-Vitiugov 0.5-0.5
Navara-Wojtaszek 0.5-0.5
Gelfand-Duda 0.5-0.5

Standings after Round Five

1 Duda 3.4
2-3 Vitiugov, Wojtaszek 3
4-7 Shankland, Gelfand, Vidit, Harikrishna 2.5
8-9 Navara, Rapport 2
10 Laznicka 1.5

Results (Challengers)

Praggnan-Ju 1-0
Michalik-Stocek 0.5-0.5
Krejci-Nguyen 1-0
Anton-Bartel 1-0
Shirov-Paravyan 1-0

Standings

1-4 Michalik, Ju, Anton, Krejci 3
5-8 Stocek, Praggnan, Nguyen, Shirov 2.5
9-10 Bartel, Paravyan 1.5

Round 5, Mar. 10
Praggnanandhaa, R. – Ju, Wenjun
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.O-O-O c6 10.Kb1 Re8 11.Bd3 d5 12.h4 Bc5 13.Bf4 Nf6 14.Rde1 Ne4 15.Bxe4 dxe4 16.Rxe4 Be6 17.Qxd8 Raxd8 18.Be3 Bf8 19.b3 c5 20.Bf4 f6 21.Rhe1 Kf7 22.c4 Bd7 23.Rxe8 Bxe8 24.Kc1 Bc6 25.Re3 h5 26.Ne1 Kg6 27.Bc7 Rc8 28.Bg3 Kf5 29.f3 g6 30.Kd1 b6 31.Nd3 Rd8 32.Ke2 g5 33.Kf2 Be8 34.hxg5 fxg5 35.Re5+ Kf6 36.Rd5 Be7 37.f4 Ke6 38.Re5+ Kd7 39.fxg5 Bg6 40.Rd5+ Kc8 41.Rxd8+ Bxd8 42.Bf4 h4 43.Kf3 Bf5 44.g3 hxg3 45.Kxg3 Kd7 46.Kh4 Ke8 47.Kh5 Kf8 48.Kh6 Kg8 49.Bd6 Kf7 50.Nf4 Bxc2 51.g6+ Kg8 52.Nd5 Be4 53.Bf4 Bxd5 54.cxd5 Bf6 55.d6 Kf8 56.d7 Ke7 57.Bg5 1-0

Position after White’s 37.f4





Round 5, Mar. 10
Shirov, Alexei – Paravyan, David
C48 Four Knights, Rubinstein Counter-Gambit

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Bc4 Bc5 6.d3 d6 7.Na4 b5 8.Nxd4 bxc4 9.Nf5 Bxf5 10.exf5 cxd3 11.Nxc5 dxc5 12.Qxd3 Qxd3 13.cxd3 O-O-O 14.Ke2 Nd5 15.Rd1 Rhe8 16.g3 Rd6 17.Bd2 e4 18.dxe4 Rxe4+ 19.Kf3 Rd4 20.Be1 Nf6 21.Rxd4 cxd4 22.Rc1 Kb7 23.Bb4 Rb6 24.Bf8 Ne8 25.b3 h5 26.h3 Ra6 27.Rc2 Ra5 28.g4 Rd5 29.Re2 hxg4+ 30.hxg4 Rd8 31.Be7 Rd7 32.Bf8 Rd8 33.Be7 Rd7 34.Bc5 Nf6 35.Rd2 d3 36.g5 Ne8 37.Ke4 Kc6 38.b4 Nd6+ 39.Bxd6 cxd6 40.Rxd3 Re7+ 41.Kd4 Re5 42.Rf3 a5 43.a3 axb4 44.axb4 Rb5 45.Kc4 g6 46.Kb3 gxf5 47.Rc3+ Kb6 48.Kc4 Kc6 49.Ra3 d5+ 50.Kb3 Kd6 51.Ra7 Ke5 52.Rxf7 Rb6 53.Rf6 Rb7 54.Rc6 d4 55.g6 d3 56.Rc1 Kf6 57.Rg1 d2 58.Kc3 Kg7 59.Rb1 Kxg6 60.Kxd2 Kf6 61.b5 Ke5 62.b6 Kd4 63.Ke2 Kc5 64.Kf3 1-0

Position after White’s 56.Rc1 What is Black’s best reply?





____________

SOLVING COMPETITION






White to move and mate in 2 moves.

Solutions are accepted at the e-mail address info@praguechessfestival.com until 11 Mar 2019 23:59:59 CET

In yesterday's puzzle by Jochanan Afek, the only correct solution is 1. Ke4! and next White's move leads to inevitable mate.

[Wayne Komer]

Prague Chess Festival 2019

March 12, 2019

Round Six

Results (Challengers)

Nguyen-Michalik 0.5-0.5
Ju-Bartel 0.5-0.5
Stocek-Anton 0.5-0.5
Paravyan-krejci 0.5-0.5
Praggnanandhaa-Shirov 1-0

Round 6, Mar. 11
Praggnanandhaa, R. – Shirov, Alexei
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.O-O d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Re1 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Bb6 10.a4 a6 11.Ne4 f6 12.d4 Kh8 13.dxe5 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nce7 15.exf6 gxf6 16.a5 Ba7 17.Ng3 Rg8 18.f4 c6 19.Bd3 Qd7 20.c4 Nb4 21.Be4 Rad8 22.Qxd7 Rxd7 23.Ra4 Bc5 24.b3 Bd4 25.Re2 c5 26.Kg2 Nec6 27.Bd2 Rgd8 28.Be1 Rg7 29.h3 Rgd7 30.Kf1 Kg7 31.Nf5+ Kf7 32.Rd2 Re8 33.Re2 Red8 34.h4 Kf8 35.h5 Rc7 36.h6 Kf7 37.Ng7 Re7 38.Nf5 Red7 39.Ng7 Re7 40.f5 Be5 41.f4 Bxf4 42.Ne6 Rxe6 43.fxe6+ Ke7 44.Bc3 Rd1+ 45.Re1 Rd8 46.Bxh7 Bxh6 47.Be4 Bd2 48.Bxb4 Bxb4 49.Re3 Rd1+ 50.Kg2 Rd2+ 51.Kh3 Nxa5 52.Bd5 Rb2 53.Ra1 Bd2 54.Rg3 Rxb3 55.Rxb3 Nxb3 56.Rb1 Nd4 57.Rxb7+ Ke8 58.Kg4 f5+ 59.Kh5 Be1 60.e7 1-0

Final position



Results (Masters)

Laznicka-Harikrishna 0.5-0.5
Rapport-Navara 0.5-0.5
Wojtaszek-Gelfand 0.5-0.5
Vidit-Vitiugov 0.5-0.5
Duda-Shankland 0.5-0.5

Standings

1 Duda 4
2-3 Vitiugov, Wojtaszek 3.5
4-7 Shankland, Gelfand, Vidit, Harikrishna 3
8-9 Navara, Rapport 2.5
10 Laznicka 2

Round 6, Mar. 12
Rapport, Richard – Navara, David
A20 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.b3 Nf6 3.Bb2 Nc6 4.Nf3 e4 5.Nd4 Bc5 6.Nf5 O-O 7.e3 d5 8.cxd5 Qxd5 9.Ng3 Ne5 10.Nc3 Nd3+ 11.Bxd3 Qxd3 12.Qe2 Re8 13.Rc1 Bb6 14.f3 Qxe2+ 15.Kxe2 exf3+ 16.gxf3 c6 17.Rhg1 Bd4 18.Kf2 Be5 19.d4 Bc7 20.Nce4 Nxe4+ 21.Nxe4 Re6 22.d5 Rg6 23.dxc6 bxc6 24.h4 Bd8 25.h5 Bh4+ 26.Ke2 Rxg1 27.Rxg1 g6 28.Nf6+ Bxf6 29.Bxf6 c5 30.h6 Be6 31.e4 a5 32.f4 Ra6 33.Be7 c4 34.f5 cxb3 35.fxe6 Rxe6 36.Bc5 bxa2 37.Kd3 f5 38.exf5 Re5 39.Bd4 Rxf5 40.Ra1 Kf7 41.Rxa2 g5 42.Rb2 Kg6 43.Rb6+ Kh5 44.Ra6 a4 45.Ke3 a3 46.Bg7 g4 47.Ke4 Rg5 48.Rxa3 g3 49.Ra1 g2 50.Rg1 Rg4+ 51.Kf3 Kh4 52.Rxg2 Rxg2 53.Kxg2 1/2-1/2

“13-year old Praggnanandhaa is one of a generation of Asian kids who may dominate chess in a decade, andafter beating Ju Wenjun and Alexei Shirov in consecutive rounds, he joined the leading group in the Prague Challengers” (Colin McGourty in chess24.com)

My concern is about the welfare of the young man, who is going from tournament to tournament. Is too much competition good for his development as a teenager?


_________

SOLVING COMPETITION






White to move and mate in 2 moves.

Solutions are accepted at the e-mail address info@praguechessfestival.com until 12 Mar 2019 23:59:59 CET

The winner will be randomly selected amongst correct answers and awarded a bottle of fine Georgian wine. © Yochanan Afek

The solution to the previously posted puzzle is 1. Rf2! And the next move by White leads to inevitable mate.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

1. Ka8 looks like a right move.

[Hans Jung]

1.Ka8 and if 1...QxN 2.PxQ =N # ! Very nice!

[Hans Jung]

In first problem (post #5) I like 1.Ra2 with pressure!

[Wayne Komer]

Prague Chess Festival 2019

March 13, 2019

Round Seven

Results

Navara-Laznicka 1-0
Gelfand-Rapport 0.5-0.5
Harikrishna-Vidit 0.5-0.5
Shankland-Wojtaszek 0.5-0.5
Vitiugov-Duda 1-0

Standings

1 Vitiugov 4.5
2-3 Wojtaszek, Duda 4
4-8 Shankland, Gelfand, Vidit, Harikrishna, Navara 3.5
9 Rapport 3
10 Laznicka 2

Round 7, Mar. 13
Navara, David – Laznicka, Viktor
C45 Scotch, Potter variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Qe2 Nge7 8.Be3 O-O 9.O-O-O f5 10.f4 fxe4 11.g3 Bxe3+ 12.Qxe3 Nf5 13.Bc4+ Kh8 14.Qe2 e3 15.Rhf1 Re8 16.g4 Nh4 17.h3 a5 18.Nc5 a4 19.a3 Na5 20.Bf7 Re7 21.Ba2 b6 22.Nd3 Ba6 23.f5 Qd7 24.f6 gxf6 25.Nd5 Re5 26.Nxe5 fxe5 27.c4 Ng6 28.h4 Nxc4 29.Bxc4 Qc6 30.Nxe3 b5 31.h5 Nf4 32.Qc2 Qc5 33.Nd5 Qxc4 34.Qxc4 bxc4 35.Nxc7 Ra7 36.Rxd6 Rxc7 37.h6 Kg8 38.Rxa6 c3 39.Rxa4 1-0

Duda received a lot of online criticism for this game, especially playing on until he was mated

Round 7, Mar. 13
Vitiugov, Nikira – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4 g6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.Be3 Nc6 9.O-O O-O 10.Qd2 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Be6 12.a5 Rc8 13.Ra4 Rc6 14.f4 Qd7 15.Rb4 Rfc8 16.Bd3 Bc4 17.h3 Bxd3 18.Qxd3 e5 19.Be3 exf4 20.Bxf4 Qc7 21.Kh1 b5 22.axb6 Rxb6 23.Rxb6 Qxb6 24.Bxd6 Qxb2 25.Nd5 Rxc2 26.Ba3 Qb5 27.Nxf6+ Bxf6 28.Qxb5 axb5 29.Rxf6 b4 30.Bxb4 Rc1+ 31.Kh2 Rc4 32.Rb6 Rxe4 33.Bc3 Re8 34.Bf6 h6 35.h4 Kh7 36.Rd6 Re4 37.g3 Re2+ 38.Kg1 Re3 39.Rd8 g5 40.h5 Rxg3+ 41.Kf2 g4 42.Rh8# 1-0

Position after White’s 24.Bxd6 What should Black play here?



Results (Challengers)

Shirov-Ju Wenjun 1-0
Krejci-Praggnanandhaa 1-0
Michalik-Paravyan 0-1
Anton-Nguyen 1-0
Bartel-Stocek 0-1

A miniature

Round 7, Mar. 12
Shirov, Alexei – Ju, Wenjun
E00 Catalan Opening
[Event "Prague Chess Festival - Challengers"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bd6 6.Nc3 c6 7.Qc2 O-O 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Qxe4 Nd7 11.Bd3 Nf6 12.Qh4 Re8 13.O-O-O b5 14.c5 Bxc5 15.g4 Bxd4 16.g5 Bxb2+ 17.Kc2 Qd5 18.gxf6 Bxf6 19.Qxh7+ Kf8 20.Bb4+ c5 21.Qh8+ Ke7 22.Qxe8+ Kxe8 23.Bxb5+ Kd8 24.Bc6 1-0

Round 7, Mar. 12
Krejci, Jan – Praggnanandhaa, R.
A05 Reti, King’s Indian Attack, Spassky’s variation

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b5 3.Na3 a6 4.c4 b4 5.Nc2 a5 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.d4 g6 8.O-O Bg7 9.b3 Na6 10.Bb2 c5 11.a3 cxd4 12.axb4 Nxb4 13.Nxb4 axb4 14.Bxd4 Rb8 15.Ba7 Rc8 16.Qe1 Nh5 17.Qxb4 Bxf3 18.Bxf3 Bxa1 19.Rxa1 O-O 20.Bb6 Qe8 21.Bb7 d6 22.Bxc8 Qxc8 23.c5 dxc5 24.Bxc5 Qe6 25.e3 Nf6 26.Qb7 Re8 27.Bd4 h5 28.Ra8 Rxa8 29.Qxa8+ Kh7 30.Bxf6 exf6 31.Qa4 g5 32.Qc4 Qd7 33.b4 Kg7 34.h4 Qd1+ 35.Kg2 g4 36.Qc6 Qb1 37.b5 Qb3 38.Qc5 Kg6 39.Kh2 Qb1 40.b6 Qb2 41.e4 Kg7 42.Kg2 Qb1 43.Qc6 Qb3 44.b7 Qb4 45.Qc7 Qxe4+ 46.Kh2 Qf3 47.Qb6 1-0

SOLVING COMPETITION





White to move and mate in 2 moves. Solutions are accepted at the e-mail address info@praguechessfestival.com until 13 Mar 2019 23:59:59 CET

The winner will be randomly selected amongst correct answers and awarded a bottle of fine Georgian wine. © Yochanan Afek

In yesterday's puzzle by Jochanan Afek the only correct solution is 1. Ka8! and the next White's move leads to inevitable mate

____________

From the official site:

The 7th round for Masters and penultimate round for Challengers tournament started today in Don Giovanni Hotel in Prague. Co-owner of Czech Inn Hotels, Mr. Jaroslav Svoboda, was the special guest in the playing hall. Mr. Svoboda made the symbolic first move in the all-Czech derby of the Masters group Navara vs Láznička and officially started the round.

"Game of the Day" prize went to Grandmaster Alexei Shirov, for his beautiful victory against Ju Wenjun in the 7th round of Challengers event.

All eyes were on the game Nikita Vitiugov vs Jan-Krzysztof Duda, as the top encounter of the 7th round in the Masters event. Najdorf was played, and Vitiugov found a nice idea with Ra4-Rb4 to prevent Black from pushing b5. Eventually, Black did push it, but at cost of ending up with pawn down. Duda took the b2 pawn, which turned out to be a blunder. Vitiugov punished it right away with nice tactical combination where he won a piece. The Russian even won in style by checkmating his opponent, to take the sole lead in the event.

Another interesting game was all-Czech derby between David Navara and Viktor Laznička, which started with Scotch and became very sharp. Láznička made few inaccuracies and his position was slowly getting worse. Navara eventually won the game, to score his first victory in the event

http://www.praguechessfestival.com/h...o-sole-leaders

[Hans Jung]

In first problem (post #5) I like 1.Ra2 with pressure!

Actually 1.Ra2 is refuted by the kamikaze Qg3+!! but 1.Rf2 should do the trick.

[Hans Jung]

Shirov does it in style!

[Wayne Komer]

Prague Chess Festival 2019

March 14, 2019

Round Eight

Results (Masters)

Laznicka-Gelfand 0.5-0.5
Harikrishna-Navara 0.5-0.5
Rapport-Shankland 0.5-0.5
Vidit-Duda 0.5-0.5
Wojtaszek-Vitiugov 0.5-0.5

Standings after Round Eight

1 Vitiugov 5
2-3 Wojtaszek, Duda 4.5
4-8 Shankland, Gelfand, Vidit,
Harikrishna, Navara 4
9 Rapport 3.5
10 Laznicka 2.5

Round Nine Pairings

Navara-Vidit
Gelfand-Harikrishna
Shankland-Laznicka
Vitiugov-Rapport
Duda-Wojtaszek

Results (Challengers)

Round Eight

Paravyan-Anton 0-1
Shirov-Krejci 0.5-0.5
Ju Wenjun-Stocek 1-0
Praggnan-Michalik 0-1
Nguyen-Bartel 0.5-0.5

Round Nine

Anton-Praggnan 0.5-0.5
Krejci-Ju Wenjun 0.5-0.5
Michalik-Shirov 0.5-0.5
Stocek-Nguyen 0.5-0.5
Bartel-Paravyan 0-1

Final Standings (Challengers)

1 Anton 6
2 Krejci 5.5
3-4 Ju, Michalik 5
5-6 Stocek, Shirov 4.5
7-9 Nguyen, Praggnanandaa, Paravyan 4
10 Bartel 2.5

Round 8, Mar. 13
Praggnanandhaa, R. – Michalik, Peter
D78 Neo-Grunfeld

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 c6 7.Qb3 Qb6 8.Nc3 Rd8 9.Rd1 Bf5 10.Ne1 Na6 11.Qxb6 axb6 12.Na4 b5 13.cxb5 cxb5 14.Nb6 Ra7 15.Bf4 Nb4 16.a3 Nc6 17.e3 e6 18.f3 Ne8 19.g4 Ra6 20.gxf5 gxf5 21.Nxd5 Rxd5 22.Bg3 Rd8 23.Bf1 Rb6 24.Nd3 Na5 25.Bf2 Nc4 26.b3 Na5 27.Rab1 Nf6 28.Rdc1 Bh6 29.Rc5 Nc6 30.Ne5 Nd5 31.Re1 Nxe5 32.dxe5 Bf8 33.Rc2 Rc6 34.Rxc6 bxc6 35.a4 Bb4 36.Rc1 Nc3 37.axb5 cxb5 38.Ra1 Bc5 39.b4 Bxb4 40.Be1 Nd5 41.Bxb5 Bc5 42.Bh4 Rb8 43.Bc6 Nb4 44.Bd7 Nc2 45.Ra5 Bxe3+ 46.Kg2 Nd4 47.Bf6 h6 48.Ra2 Kh7 49.h4 h5 50.Kh3 Nxf3 51.Ra3 Ng1+ 52.Kg2 Rb2+ 53.Kf1 Rb1+ 54.Kg2 f4 55.Bc6 f3+ 56.Bxf3 Rb2+ 57.Kg3 Nxf3 58.Kxf3 Bh6 59.Ra7 Kg6 60.Ra8 Kf5 61.Rh8 Rb3+ 62.Ke2 Bf4 63.Rxh5+ Ke4 64.Rh7 Rb2+ 65.Kd1 Kd3 66.Ke1 Be3 67.Kf1 Rf2+ 68.Ke1 Rf5 69.Bg5 Bd4 70.Bd2 Rxe5+ 71.Kd1 Re2 72.Bg5 Rh2 0-1

Round 9, Mar. 14
Anton Guijarro, David – Praggnanandhaa, R.
A21 English, Kramnik-Shirov Counter-Attack

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 a5 4.Nf3 d6 5.a3 Bc5 6.e3 Nf6 7.d4 Nxd5 8.cxd5 exd4 9.exd4 Bb6 10.Bg5 f6 11.Be3 O-O 12.Bd3 c6 13.Qc2 f5 14.O-O h6 15.Rfe1 Kh8 16.dxc6 bxc6 17.d5 Bxe3 18.Rxe3 c5 19.Rae1 Ra7 20.Bb5 Qf6 21.Re8 Rf7 22.Qd2 f4 23.Qxa5 Bg4 24.Qc3 Nd7 25.Bxd7 Bxd7 26.Rxf8+ Rxf8 27.Qxf6 Rxf6 28.Nd2 Rf5 29.Nc4 Ba4 30.Nb6 Bb3 31.f3 Bxd5 32.Rd1 Bb3 33.Rxd6 Re5 34.Kf2 c4 35.Nd5 Rf5 36.Rd8+ Kh7 37.Nc3 Rh5 38.h3 Re5 39.Rd5 Re8 40.h4 Rb8 41.Ke1 Bc2 42.Rd2 Bf5 43.h5 g6 44.hxg6+ Kxg6 45.Kd1 Bd3 46.Nd5 Kg5 47.Ke1 Rb3 48.Nc3 h5 49.Kf2 Kf5 50.Na2 Bb1 51.Nc3 Bd3 52.Ne2 Rb7 53.Nc1 Bb1 54.Kg1 Ke5 55.Kf1 Bf5 56.Na2 Rb3 57.Kf2 Bb1 58.Nc1 Rb7 59.Ne2 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Mar. 14
Krejci, Jan – Ju, Wenjun
D38 QGD, Ragozin, Marshall variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 O-O 8.Rc1 dxc4 9.Bxc4 c5 10.O-O cxd4 11.Nxd4 Qe7 12.Qb3 Ba5 13.Rfd1 Rd8 14.Be2 Nd7 15.Ne4 Ne5 16.Rc5 Bc7 17.Qc2 Nc6 18.Nxc6 bxc6 19.Rxc6 Bb6 20.Rxd8+ Qxd8 21.Bf3 Bb7 22.Rc3 Bxe4 23.Bxe4 Rb8 24.g3 Qf6 25.b4 g6 26.a4 Kg7 27.Kg2 h5 28.h4 Bd8 29.Rc4 Qe5 30.Rd4 Bb6 31.Rc4 Bd8 32.Bf3 a6 33.Bc6 Be7 34.b5 axb5 35.axb5 Bd8 36.Re4 Qd6 37.Rd4 Qe5 38.Rd7 Bb6 39.Qd2 Kg8 40.Qd3 Qf6 41.Qe4 Kg7 42.Qb4 Qe5 43.Qa3 Bc5 44.Qd3 Bb6 45.Be4 Qf6 46.Qc2 Ba5 47.Bc6 Rd8 48.Rxd8 Qxd8 49.Qe4 Bb6 50.Qe5+ Qf6 51.Qb8 Qd8 52.Qxd8 Bxd8 53.Kf3 Kf6 54.Ke4 Bb6 55.f3 Ke7 56.Kd3 f5 57.Ke2 Bc7 58.Kf2 Bb6 59.Bb7 Bc5 60.Bc8 Bb6 61.Ke2 Bc7 62.f4 Bb6 63.Kd3 Bc5 64.Bb7 Bb6 65.Bf3 Bc5 66.Bd1 Bb6 67.Bb3 Bc5 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Mar. 14
Bartel, Mateusz – Paravyan, David
A01 Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, Modern variation

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 g6 4.h4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e4 6.Ng5 d5 7.h5 Bh6 8.Nh3 O-O 9.hxg6 fxg6 10.Nc3 Be6 11.Ne2 Bg4 12.a3 Qd6 13.d4 exd3 14.Qxd3 Ne5 15.Qd4 Rae8 16.O-O-O c5 17.Qa4 d4 18.Nhf4 Bxf4 19.exf4 Nc6 20.f3 Be6 21.Qb5 Nd5 22.Qxb7 Nc7 23.b4 Rb8 24.bxc5 Qd7 0-1

DAVID ANTON WINS PICF CHALLENGERS

David Anton Guijarro wins Challengers tournament of the 1st Prague International Chess Festival 2019! He drew in the final round with R.Praggnanandhaa and triumphed with 6 points out of 9.

The round started with the symbolic first move in the deciding game between Anton and Praggnanandhaa, made by Mr. Macauley Peterson, Editor in Chief of ChessBase, who has been the guest of the Festival for the last few days.

The match of the day, between David Anton and R.Praggnanandhaa attracted lot of attention of the spectators and chess fans in the playing hall. It started with English opening, interestingly with the variation named by one of the participants of the event: the Kramnik-Shirov variation! After 12...c6 White got very comfortable position, and soon he started pressing more and more, and with slight help of Pragg, he got clear advantage. The game went into an endgame with pawn up for Anton, and after the first time control, it seemed the Champion will be decided any minute. However, with few imprecise moves, it didn't seem winning path is so clear anymore.

In the meantime, Jan Krejči failed to convert much better position against Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun, and the draw was agreed in the opposite color Bishop endgame. This meant that Anton only needed a draw to win the title. He played some more move, trying to convert, but eventually draw was agreed.

http://www.praguechessfestival.com/h...cf-challengers

SOLVING COMPETITION







White to move and mate in 2 moves.

Solutions are accepted at the e-mail address info@praguechessfestival.com until 15 Mar 2019 23:59:59 CET

The winner will be randomly selected amongst correct answers and awarded a bottle of fine Georgian wine. © Yochanan Afek

The solution to yesterday’s puzzle is 1.Be6! and the next White move leads to inevitable mate.

[Hugh Brodie]

1. Bh7..mating on g8, c2, or a3 depending on Black's reply.

[Wayne Komer]

Prague Chess Festival 2019

March 15, 2019

Round Nine

Results

Shankland-Laznicka 0.5-0.5
Gelfand-Harikrishna 1-0
Navara-Vidit 0-1
Duda-Wojtaszek 0.5-0.5
Vitiugov-Rapport 0.5-0.5

Final Standings

1 Vitiugov 5.5
2-5 Vidit, Wojtaszek, Duda, Gelfand 5
6 Shankland 4.5
7-9 Harikrishna, Navara, Rapport 4
10 Laznicka 3

From the official site:

VITIUGOV WINS PICF MASTERS

Nikita Vitiugov wins the 1st edition of the Prague International Chess Festival Masters! The Russian Grandmaster scored 5,5 points out of 9 rounds and convincingly triumphed.

The first game to finish was Polish derby between Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Radoslaw Wojtaszek, by move repetition. Nikita Vitiugov needed a draw to avoid tie-breaks and secure the title. At that point, his position was equal, and shortly after draw was agreed.

"Every player is happy after winning a tournament. Maybe it was not a great performance, but I am still happy to have won", said the 1st Masters Champion. "I was moved when I was invited here, and it was an honor to participate in such an event", said Vitiugov.

Boris Gelfand surprised with quick victory against Harikrishna Pentala in the final round, eventually scoring 5/9. "My opponent had a poor day, it happens to everyone. His position collapsed and I had an easy game", said Gelfand. "Maybe things could have been different for me. Yesterday I had good winning chances, and I should have focused more in the crucial moments. Of course, it is a good result for me, especially because recently I did not play so well. I am happy to be here and I am satisfied with my tournament", said the famous Grandmaster after the game.

Vidit Gujrathi defeated David Navara to join Wojtaszek, Duda and Gelfand on shared 2nd place. Eventually he finished 2nd, thanks to better Sonneborn-Berger.

http://www.praguechessfestival.com/h...s-picf-masters


Round 9, Mar. 15
Gelfand, Boris – Harikrishna, Pentala
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be4 11.Qc1 c6 12.Rd1 Nbd7 13.Nc3 Bg6 14.a3 c5 15.Be3 Rc8 16.dxc5 Bxc5 17.Ne5 Qc7 18.Nc6 Rfe8 19.Bxc5 Nxc5 20.Qe3 Nb7 21.Nb4 Nc5 22.Bc6 Nfd7 23.Rac1 Qd8 24.Nxb5 1-0

Round 9, Mar. 15
Navara, David – Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qb3 c5 6.dxc5 Na6 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Qxc3 Nxc5 9.cxd5 Qxd5 10.Be3 Nce4 11.Qb4 a5 12.Qd4 O-O 13.Ne5 a4 14.Nd3 Rd8 15.Qxd5 Nxd5 16.Bc1 b5 17.f3 Nd6 18.e4 Nb6 19.Bd2 Ndc4 20.Bc3 Ne3 21.Ke2 Nbc4 22.Ne5 Ba6 23.Nxc4 Nxc4 24.Rc1 b4 25.Bxb4 Nd2+ 26.Ke3 Nxf1+ 27.Rhxf1 Bxf1 28.Rxf1 Rac8 29.Bc3 f6 30.h3 Kf7 31.Rg1 Rd7 32.Ke2 Kg6 33.Ke3 Kg5 34.Rc1 Kg6 35.Kf2 h5 36.Kg3 Rd3 37.Kf2 h4 38.Ke2 Rd7 39.Ke3 Kh5 40.Rf1 Rcd8 41.Ke2 Rb8 42.Rc1 Rb3 43.Rf1 Kg5 44.Ke3 Rb6 45.Rc1 Rbd6 46.Ke2 Rd3 47.Be1 Rb3 48.Rc2 e5 49.Bc3 Kg6 50.Ke3 Rd1 51.f4 Re1+ 52.Kd2 Rxe4 53.fxe5 fxe5 54.Kd3 Rd4+ 55.Ke3 Kf5 56.Rf2+ Rf4 57.Rd2 Rc4 0-1

++++++++

SOLVING COMPETITION

The answer to yesterday’s puzzle is 1.Bh7