Malcolm Pein continues to follow the fortunes of Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in today’s Daily Telegraph chess column, with a game featuring a rare defeat for the ambitious teenager.
Malcolm Pein on…Pegging Back Pragg
Appropriately enough, Team Polgar took a 75-71 lead over Team Kramnik on day three of the Polgar Challenge, the first leg of the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour. The previous close-of-play scores had been 25-25 and 50-50.
On the third day, Internet issues forced Kazakh IM Dinara Saduakassova to withdraw from Team Kramnik, leaving Team Polgar with an extra player. Saduakassova’s results were annulled and only the top nine scores by Team Polgar will count.
Uzbek 16-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov was in second place overall on 11.5/15, half a point behind 15-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who ended day three with a defeat at the hands of wunderkind Vincent Keymer.
V. Keymer – R. Praggnanandhaa
King’s Indian Defence
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.d4 Nc6 7.0-0 e5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Bg5 h6!? (Sacrificing a pawn. 9…Be6 is the alternative) 10.Qxd8 Rxd8 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nd5 Kg7 13.Nxc7 Rb8 14.Nd5 e4 15.Nd2 e3 16.Nxf6 exd2 17.Nd5 Bg4 18.f3 Be6 19.e4 Na5 (Black must play actively and would meet 20.b3 with 20…b5!)
20.Rfd1 Nxc4 21.b3 Bxd5 22.exd5 Ne3 23.Rxd2 Rxd5 24.Rxd5 Nxd5 25.Rc1 Nf6 (Intending 26.Rc7 Ne8, but 25…Nb4!? 26.a3 Nc6 27.Rd1 Rc8 might have been a better defence, and if 28.Rd7 Ne5) 26.f4 Ne8 27.Kf2 b6 28.Bf3 Rd8 29.Ke3 Kf8 30.Rc4 Nd6 31.Rc7 Nf5+ 32.Ke4 a5 (32…Nd6+ 33.Ke5 Nb5! should hold, as should 32…Re8+ 33.Kd5 Rd8+ 34.Kc4 Nd6+ 35.Kb4 a5+ 36.Ka4 Nf5!) 33.Bg4 Re8+?! (Drifting. It was time to go active with 33…Rd2! 34.Bxf5 gxf5+ 35.Kxf5 Kg7) 34.Kd3 Rd8+ 35.Kc3! (White has the more active rook and superior minor piece) 35…Ne3 36.Bf3 Rd6 37.a4 h5 38.b4 axb4+ 39.Kxb4 Rd2?! (Natural, but 39…h4 40.Kb5 Nf5! was the way to obtain counterplay) 40.Kb5! Rb2+ 41.Ka6 Rxh2 42.Kxb6 Rh3? (42…Rb2+ or 42…h4 was required)
Test Your Strength
Not an active square for the rook, but Black hopes to save the day with 43.a5 Rxg3 44.Be4 Nf5. What had Pragg overlooked?
Highlight the space below this line to reveal the answer.
43.Rc3! (or 43.Rc8+ Kg7 44.Rc3!) 43…Nf5 44.a5 Rxg3 45.a6 Ne7 46.a7 Rxf3 47.a8Q+ 1-0
