Abdusattorov Maintains World #4 Position As Prague Masters Ends With All Draws

GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov kept his newly accomplished world number-four status by finishing the 2024 Prague Masters with a quick draw against GM Richard Rapport. Thursday's final round saw draws on all boards, so Abdusattorov won the tournament with a 1.5-point margin.

GM-elect Ediz Gurel put a cherry on his chess cake with a final-round win against the strong Ukrainian grandmaster GM Anton Korobov. Because GM Jaime Santos drew his game with GM-elect Vaishali Rameshbabu, 15-year-old Gurel won the Challengers alone and qualified for next year's Masters.

Prague Masters | Round 9 Results

"I'm a bit tired but, really, very happy that I managed to win," Abdusattorov said yesterday after he clinched the tournament with a round to spare. "I rank this success high in my career. It was one of my best tournaments," he added. Today, the winner wasn't really put to the test anymore.

Rapport wasn't much in a fighting mood at 11 a.m. in the morning, and for Abdusattorov, there was no reason to play for a win either. The game was a French Exchange, which almost says enough. Also, in the remainder, both sides seemed eager to make trades when possible:

The other four games were pretty exciting, so this final round was more fighting than expected. This generation of chess players really likes to battle it out on the board, don't they?

Our Game of the Day was also the longest, and it included a lovely tactic missed by GM Parham Maghsoodloo that deserves a puzzle here. White to play and win:

The position came just after Gukesh had sacrificed a knight for two pawns, a desperate measure to look for a perpetual after Maghsoodloo had outplayed him. As it turned out, it was an excellent practical choice that did save Black the half point. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes:

GM Vincent Keymer cannot complain about his draw with GM Mateusz Bartel, who was clearly better out of the opening (which, by the way, saw a novelty in the Queen's Gambit as early as move six). Black's control of the h-file was crucial, and could have yielded him a close-to-winning advantage if the Polish GM had been able to trade queens.

GM Vidit Gujrathi's bad tournament could have ended even worse. The Indian GM was in big trouble against GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen, who missed several chances to turn a good tournament into an even better one:

GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu won a pawn against GM David Navara but Black had good compensation in the double rook endgame. From the first time I saw him in Wijk aan Zee in 2007, this author remembers that Navara has always liked rook endgames and studied them a lot. It showed once again in this game, where he defended perfectly:

This concludes a memorable Prague Masters tournament that saw lots of great chess. "I enjoyed every game," Abdusattorov said on the last day. "It was a very competitive tournament." Indeed!

As far as over-the-board chess is concerned, the next big events are the American Cup (starting March 12), the Grenke Chess Classic (March 26), and then the Candidates Tournament (April 4).

Abdusattorov said today about missing the Candidates: "I feel this cycle is not my cycle. I don’t regret to not play in the Candidates this year. I feel like I am not quite there yet. I’ll have more time till the next cycle and I’ll gain more experience. I hope I’ll be ready for the next tournament."

I feel this cycle is not my cycle.
–Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Prague Masters | Final Standings

Prague Challengers | Round 9 Results

Gurel's win over Korobov was the only decisive game in the Challengers group. 6.5/9 was a fantastic score for the Turkish teenager, who said that his next goal is to reach 2700. Well, with a performance rating of 2710, he has shown that this is not out of the question.

Prague Challengers | Final Standings

The 2024 Prague Chess Festival took place February 27-March 7 at the Don Giovanni Hotel in Prague, Czech Republic. The format was a single round-robin. The time control was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting on move one.

Previous posts:

• Abdusattorov Wins Prague Masters With Round To Spare As New World Number 4
• Abdusattorov Maintains Lead Despite Losing To Praggnanandhaa
• Abdusattorov Up To World #5 As Praggnanandhaa, Navara Also Win
• White Presses, Black Holds: All Draws In Prague
• Abdusattorov Catches Maghsoodloo As Prague Masters Sees Blunders, Turnarounds
• Maghsoodloo Ends Praggnanandhaa's 47-Game Unbeaten Streak
• Abdusattorov Enters Live Top 10 After Win In Prague Masters Opening Round