India’s rising talent Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa had a day to remember at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee on Tuesday. The 18-year-old from Chennai defeated China’s world champion, Ding Liren, with the black pieces for the second year in succession at the “chess Wimbledon” and also jumped to No 11 in the live rankings, where he now sits one place ahead of India’s former world champion Vishy Anand.
There was a curious symmetry. One round earlier Ding had seemed to be running into world champion form when he caught another Indian teen, Dommaraju Gukesh, 17, with a mating attack on the white king in the middle of the board. That result also repeated what had happened when the same players met at Wijk 2023.
Praggnanandhaa is receiving the most support of the three Indians, two Americans and one each from France, Russia and Azerbaijan, who will compete over 14 rounds at Toronto in April for the right to challenge Ding for the world crown later this year.
His new sponsor is the Adani Group, a major multinational Indian company which operates in airports, infrastructure, resource management, power generation and more. Its chairman and founder, Gautam Adani, is listed by Forbes this month as the second wealthiest individual in India, with a net worth of $51bn.
Adani stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the objective of the sponsorship is to help Praggnanandhaa to the world crown by providing the best possible coaches, support and computer backup. Praggnanandhaa said: “They are very keen on my becoming world champion and that’s my ultimate goal too”. In a post on X three days ago, Adani wrote about the win against Ding: “This is a proud moment for our nation.”
Thursday’s fifth round at Wijk aan Zee turned into one of the most memorable days ever for women’s chess, with a stunning double success. In the Masters group, the women’s world champion, Ju Wenjun, outplayed and defeated the world No 7, Alireza Firouzja, in a 64-move rook and pawn ending. It was the best victory of Ju’s career, and her subtle rook manoeuvre which forced the weakening 49…g7-g6 was widely praised.
There was a still bigger shock in the Challengers group, where Eline Roebers, the 17-year-old Netherlands women’s champion, trounced the controversial US grandmaster Hans Niemann. Her chess, it seems, spoke for itself.
Niemann was the top seed, Roebers the bottom seed, with 300 rating points between them. Until Thursday, Niemann was joint leader of the Challengers, whose winner qualifies for next year’s Masters, while Roebers had lost all her previous games. Two seismic results, which will be published worldwide.
Wijk aan Zee scores after six of the 13 rounds: Anish Giri (Netherlands) 4.5, Firouzja 4, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan), Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh (both India), Max Warmerdam (Nertherlands) 3.5, Vidit Gujrathi (India), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia), Wei Yi, Ding (both China) 3, Ju (China) 2.5, Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands) 2, Parham Maghsoodloo (India), Alexander Donchenko (Germany) 1.5. Live games and commentary are free to watch on chess24.com from 1.15pm GMT.
Britain’s 4NCL national league has traditionally been the preserve of one or two very strong and well financed clubs. Guildford, the record holders, were unbeaten for eight seasons with 81 wins and two draws before they abdicated the title and downsized their team in 2021.
The 2023-24 season has completed four of its 11 rounds, and the title race is unusually open. Wood Green lead with 8/8 points, followed by The Sharks, Cheddleton, Wood Green Youth and Manx Liberty all 6/8. Sharks defeated the holders Manx in an eyecatching upset where the defending champions underestimated their opponents and fielded a weakened team.
The two Wood Green teams are managed by the experienced IM Loz Cooper, who has a fine track record and favours youth. Cooper has assembled a talented squad with several GM and IM candidates including Shreyas Royal, 15, who can become England’s youngest ever grandmaster if he makes his third and final norm over the course of the current 4NCL season. Thus far, Royal has a win against a 2500-rated GM and three draws, so he is on course.
Alexey Shirov of Manx remains the 4NCL’s class act. It is more than 20 years since the Latvia-born elite GM, who now represents Spain, qualified for a world title challenge to Garry Kasparov but was denied it by a lack of funds. Shirov’s best games book “Fire on Board” is a classic, and his style still seeks fearless complications.
Playing for Manx in the 4NCL, Shirov’s score over three seasons is 12 wins, no draws, and no losses. His two games so far in 2023-24 have both been elegant demolitions.
The 4NCL also organises popular open-to-all weekend congresses. Its next event on 20-21 January at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, is headed by three grandmasters, offers a £3,000 prize fund, and has a full house of 180 entrants.
This will be followed on 2-3 March by the important 4NCL-organised 11-round British Rapidplay Championship at Peterborough, for which entries are still open and which has a £600 first prize. Rapid is 15 minutes per player per game, plus a 10 seconds per move increment from move one.
3903: 1 Rxc6+! Kxc6 2 Ne5+ Kd5 (Kc5? 3 Nd3+ and 4 Nxe1) 3 Qb7+! Ke6 4 Qf7+! Kd6 5 Qd7+! forces the BK to either c5 or to take on e5, losing his queen in both cases (Kxe5 6 Qe7+ and 8 Qxe1).
