With each win in the four Rapid Games worth $7500, Pragyananand has already secured $15,000.
With each win in the four Rapid Games worth $7500, Pragyananand has already secured $15,000.
Gaining confidence with every game, R. Pragyananand beat Anish Giri (Netherlands) 2.5-1.5 to take a six-point lead with Magnus Carlsen (Norway) after two rounds of $210,000. FTX Crypto Cup Rapid Chess Tournament in Miami on Tuesday.
After the first three games ended in a draw, Pragyananand won in the fourth game to leave Anish stranded with no return in his best-of-four game clash.
teen fight
With each win in the four Rapid Games worth $7500, Pragyananand has already secured $15,000. On Monday, Pragyananand won the teen fight against world No. 4 Alireza Firoza (France).
Despite losing the opening game, Carlsen kept pace with the young Indian after beating Hans Niemann (USA) 3-1.
In the other two matches, Turquoise made short work of Le Quang Liam (Vietnam) 2.5–0.5 and Levon Aronian (USA) needed an Armageddon game to stop Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) 3.5–2.5.
in the headlines
For the second day in a row, Pragyananand’s play caught everyone’s attention.
The first game, where Pragnananda played white and had his share of concerns, ended in 46 moves and the second, after a repetition of moves, in 34.
In the third, Pragyananand could seize the initiative by finding the optimum strength move to gain a decisive advantage.
But the youngster missed out on an easy-going win and the game eventually ended with just kings on the board in 69 moves.
This was followed by a tie-deciding encounter, with Pragyananand looking better than the 21st move. The queens and rogues exchanged and Pragyananand set up a dangerous ‘pass’ pawn on one of the central files.
Advantage swings
With the edge in Kishori’s favour, Anish drops a rook for a knight to eliminate Pragyananand’s pawn from the seventh rank. Thereafter, Pragyanananda tightened his grip with some good knight-and-rook play and the lone kingside pawn on the board moved to sixth place.
Anish saw no way to stop the pawn without losing his bishop and resigned on the 81st turn.
Third round line-up: Neiman-Pragnananda, Aronian-Carlson; Anish-turquoise and lim-duda.