Twelve-year-old International Master R Praggnanandhaa recorded one of the biggest upset in the fifth round of the Isle of Man International Chess tournament when he upset British Grandmaster David Howell to move to joint third position in the overall standing.
The Indian chess prodigy, who already has an ELO rating of 2500, forced the three time British Champion into abject surrender in 64 moves to take his points tally to 3.5. This was Praggnanandhaa’s third win in five rounds with his only loss coming against Englishman GM Michael Adams in second round.
Another Indian GM SP Sethuraman moved into the joint second position after registering a facile win over GM Boris Gelfand of Israel in 52 moves and will now play former World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who drew against Sweden’s Nils Grandelius.
Overnight joint leader Vidit Gujrathi opted for a quick draw against Aleksandr Lenderman of USA after he failed to break the Grunfeld defence of the American GM. World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Ukraine’s Pavel Eljanov hold the joint top spot after registering quick wins.
India’s top women’s player GM D Harika, however, suffered another set back when she lost her second consecutive match on Wednesday. The three-time World Cup bronze medallist, playing white, lost to Women Grandmaster Anna Rudolf of Hungary as she made couple of errors from a comfortable position.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!