Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa wins Polgar Challenge
Indian prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa booked himself a chance to take on the very best in chess with a stunning victory in the Polgar Challenge. The 15-year-old from Chennai secured the first online title in the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour and a $3,000 top prize with a round to spare on Sunday. Pragg wins not just the cash purse but a golden ticket to the next event in the elite Meltwater Champions Chess Tour on April 24 where he can test himself against the best. With just four games finishing off the tournament today, a hotly-anticipated final round decider against top seed Nodirbek Abdusattorov was on the cards. But that clash of the top two title-chasers overnight became irrelevant as Pragg simply won his first three games and therefore couldn’t be stopped. Chess legend Judit Polgar, a former top 10 player and the strongest female player in the game’s history, said the youngster’s win was “fully deserved and extremely convincing”. Pragg’s coach for the tour, former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, said it’s not unrealistic to predict he will play a match for the World Championship someday: “His talent is on the scale of the guys who we all know!” Kramnik added: “He reminds me so much of a young Vishy (Anand), in every way.” The Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour returns on June 10 for the Gelfand Challenge when the two teams of players will be competing for a $15,000 prize pot and another wildcard entry into the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. You can see the full results in detail and the games on chess24’s website here. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770 About the Tour: Fronted by the strongest female player of all time, Judit Polgar, and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour will run alongside the hugely popular Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Tour is organised by the Play Magnus Group and is designed to tackle head-on the lack of female role models competing in top events and promote emerging talent. More information here. Team Kramnik:Nodirbek Abdusattorov (aged, 16, Uzbekistan); Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (15, India); Dinara Saduakassova (24, Kazakhstan); Jonas Bjerre (16, Denmark); Leon Mendonca (15, India); Lei Tingjie (24, China); Christopher Yoo (14, United States); Olga Badelka (18, Belarus); Carissa Yip (17, United States); Nurgyul Salimova (17, Bulgaria) Team Polgar:Nihal Sarin (aged 16, India); Awonder Liang (17, United States); Vincent Keymer (16, Germany); Gukesh D (14, India); Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (24, Iran); Volodar Murzin (14, Russia); Polina Shuvalova (20, Russia); Zhansaya Abdumalik (21, Kazakhstan); Jiner Zhu (18, China); Gunay Mammadzada (20, Azerbaijan)
Celebrating Bob Wade
This weekend would have been Robert Graham Wade‘s 100th birthday. Born on April 10, 1921, in Dunedin (NZ), he was New Zealand champion three times, British champion twice, and played in seven Chess Olympiads and one Interzonal tournament. When Bob passed away in 2008, chess websites were flooded with eulogies and messages from his chess colleagues. He was an uncontroversial, well-loved and generous personality, who left a mark on all those he encountered. Wade won two New Zealand Championships in a row, in Wellington 1943-44 and Auckland 1944-45, and then again in his hometown of Dunedin, in 1947-48. In order to pursue a career as a chess player he wanted to face stronger opposition, so he moved to Europe shortly after that, where international chess was coming back to life after the long hiatus caused by World War II. Following a couple of very active years, Bob achieved the International Master title thanks to his shared 5–7th place in the super-strong tournament of Venice 1950, won by Kotov. In 1950 he settled in England, and in 1958 he earned the title of International Arbiter. He made much of his living as a writer, arbiter, coach, and promoter, and wearing all these different hats he earned the respect of his peers and the chess community. “After he retired from professional play, Wade authored many books and was a key part of the ‘English Chess Explosion’ that began after the Fischer-Spassky match in 1972. Wade’s enormous library was consulted by many aspiring young players, as well as by established GMs such as Tony Miles. Even Bobby Fischer sought his assistance when preparing for Boris Spassky”, writes Malcolm Pein in his column today for The Telegraph. Indeed, in the days before computer databases, Bob’s library at his house in South London, constantly enlarged by Batsford’s publications (to which he served as chess editor), magazines, and tournament bulletins, was often used by British and foreign players in preparation for tournaments. Wade made use of all this material to create a file on Boris Spassky and help Bobby Fischer prepare for his 1972 World Championship match. “He was one of the most influential figures in the English Chess Explosion and the nicest person you could ever meet”, wrote Malcolm Pein on Twitter. “He did so much for English chess without courting recognition. He occasionally offered me stern but sympathetic advice – and was usually right”, added Daniel King. “Bob helped in establishing the TWIC (The Week in Chess) database, the leading source of online chess news; was an arbiter at the Kasparov v Nigel Short 1993 world title series and at the annual Oxford v Cambridge match; and continued to encourage young talent. He helped many future GMs from Jonathan Speelman to David Howell, and his sharp wit, kindness and generosity made him probably the most liked personality in English chess”, remembers Leonard Barden. Bob has an opening line named after him, which is probably one of the highest forms of recognition a chess player can get. After playing 1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Bg4 for decades, this is known now as the Wade Defence. But this is by no means the only tribute he has received: in 1979 he was awarded the title of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, usually known by its acronym, OBE. A memorial tournament in his honour was held this weekend in Auckland, New Zealand, with the victory by Gawain Jones. Photo Credit: British Chess Magazine
Praggnanandhaa in pole position to win Polgar Challenge
Indian prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is in pole position to win the Polgar Challenge as the online chess event enters its final day. The 15-year-old from Chennai won three in a row before being held to a draw against fellow Indian D Gukesh. A final-round loss against Germany’s Vincent Keymer was the only blemish on his copybook. With just four rounds left to play on Sunday, Team Kramnik star Pragg is on 12/15 with top seed Nodirbek Abdusattorov is just a half-point behind. Nihal Sarin, another Indian talent, and Awonder Liang are another half-point behind on 11/15 but it is Pragg and Abdusattorov who are the hot favourites. The two leaders are due to face each other in a mouth-watering Round 19 game that could decide the winner of the first Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour event. At stake is a chance to play in an elite Meltwater Champions Chess Tour tournament and face World Champion Magnus Carlsen. In the team battle, Team Polgar edged ahead with 75 points to Team Kramnik’s 71, despite Pragg and Abdusattorov both representing the second team. Before the start of play, it was announced that due to connection problems IM Dinara Saduakassova, from Uzbekistan, had pulled out of the tournament. Play Magnus Group, the Tour organiser, made the following statement on how the event would proceed without her: Four more rounds will follow on Sunday as the first leg of the new $100,000 Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour reaches its climax. The 20 young talents on show are divided into two teams, Team Kramnik and Team Polgar. The overall day 1 score finished 25-25. The young stars of chess represent 12 nations and are competing for a prize pot totalling $100,000 and places on the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. They are receiving coaching and support from teams of coaches, which include world champions and legends of the game. The Polgar Challenge, named after Judit Polgar, is the first of four tournaments before a tour final in September organised by the Play Magnus Group. The team that wins the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour overall will also get a trip to this year’s World Chess Championship in Dubai. You can see the full results in detail and the games on chess24’s website here. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770 About the Tour: Fronted by the strongest female player of all time, Judit Polgar, and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour will run alongside the hugely popular Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Tour is organised by the Play Magnus Group and is designed to tackle head-on the lack of female role models competing in top events and promote emerging talent. More information here. Team Kramnik:Nodirbek Abdusattorov (aged, 16, Uzbekistan); Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (15, India); Dinara Saduakassova (24, Kazakhstan); Jonas Bjerre (16, Denmark); Leon Mendonca (15, India); Lei Tingjie (24, China); Christopher Yoo (14, United States); Olga Badelka (18, Belarus); Carissa Yip (17, United States); Nurgyul Salimova (17, Bulgaria) Team Polgar:Nihal Sarin (aged 16, India); Awonder Liang (17, United States); Vincent Keymer (16, Germany); Gukesh D (14, India); Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (24, Iran); Volodar Murzin (14, Russia); Polina Shuvalova (20, Russia); Zhansaya Abdumalik (21, Kazakhstan); Jiner Zhu (18, China); Gunay Mammadzada (20, Azerbaijan)