Chess
57th Biel Chess: R Praggnanandhaa secures third place in GMT Masters
Praggnanandhaa defeated Abhimanyu in the final round to settle for third place in GMT Masters. Both Ayush and Mendonca missed out on the MTO title.
GM Abhimanyu finished fourth, while GM R Praggnanandhaa secured third place in the GMT Masters at the Biel Chess Festival. (Photo Credit: Biel Chess Festival)
Grand Master R Praggnanandhaa defeated fellow Indian Grand Master Abhimanyu Mishra in the Round 3 final of the GMT Masters at the 57th Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland on Friday.
Although Praggnanandhaa had suffered a defeat in the previous round to Liem Quang Le of Vietnam and missed out on the title, he finished third in the tournament with a convincing win over his compatriot Abhimanyu.
Praggnanandhaa, who played with the black pieces, effectively mounted pressure on Abhimanyu by actively advancing his pawns to gain a winning advantage.
The 18-year-old also targeted the queenside, and the activity of his rooks gave him a decisive advantage over the white pieces, leading to his victory eventually. With this win, Praggnanandhaa earned a cash prize of 5000 CHF (Swiss Franc) (INR 47,00,00).
Title eludes Indians in MTO
GM Leon Luke Mendonca and International Master Ayush Sharma were favourites to win the Masters Tournament Open (MTO) title at the end of round 9. But they played out a draw in their final round encounter. This result allowed GM Rinat Jumabayev to catch up and win the MTO title.
GM Rinat Jumabayev of Kazakhstan defeated IM Alexis Tahay of France in tie-breaks of the final round to become the champion of the MTO. Leon Luke Mendonca finished third, while Ayush Sharma finished fourth. GM Krishnan Sasikiran and GM Aryan Chopra were the other Indians who finished in the top ten.
