Indian Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram defeated Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest in the eighth round of the Prague Chess Festival, while world champion D Gukesh’s winless run continued with another draw against Germany’s Vincent Keymer.
Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov surged to the top of the standings after beating Czech star David Navara. Abdusattorov now holds 5.5 points, half a point ahead of van Foreest, with just one round remaining. Following his Tata Steel Masters victory earlier this year, Abdusattorov is on track for another major tournament win.
Navara sits in third place with 4.5 points. Aravindh’s victory elevated him to joint fourth with four points, alongside Keymer and Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo. Nodirbek Yakubboev, Hans Niemann, and David Anton Guijarro trail with 3.5 points, while Gukesh remains last with 2.5 points.
Both Abdusattorov and Chithambaram capitalised on late blunders from their opponents. Navara missed a bishop tactic in a rook and minor piece endgame, while van Foreest overlooked a simple endgame tactic against Aravindh.
Gukesh complicated his game with a queen sacrifice that advanced his pawn to the seventh rank, but Keymer defended accurately to secure a draw. Keymer admitted afterwards that the position required precise calculation, and he struggled to find the right continuation.
In the challengers’ section, Czech IM Finek Vanclav held Indian GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly to a draw, strengthening his lead in the title race. Indian talent Divya Deshmukh also drew her game against Nemec Jachym.
