Be Like Pragg!

John B. Henderson • Aug 14, 2023

The FIDE World Cup is heading for an intriguing generational quarterfinal marquee match-up on Tuesday, as the former world champion and World No.1, Magnus Carlsen goes head-to-head against the rapidly rising teenage Indian star, Gukesh D., after both won through their round of 16 clashes in Baku, Azerbaijan. 


On Sunday, Gukesh, 17, comfortably disposed of China’s Wang Hao, 1.5-0.5, to not only progress to the quarterfinals of the $1.8m contest but also continue his rampage further up the World’s Top-10, now up four spots, to No.7 on the unofficial live ratings list as he ushers in the end of an epoch by supplanting the legendary figure of Vishy Anand as this country’s new No.1.

And with Carlsen quite brilliantly beating the veteran Ukraine ace, Vasyl Ivanchuk, 2-0, the scene is now set for a big generational clash of the ages in Baku, as he - and US no.1 and new World No.2, Fabiano Caruana - could be set on a collision course with several other rising Indian teenage stars if he’s to win the one major title that has so far has eluded the Norwegian legend.


After sensationally beating second seed Hikaru Nakamura in their tiebreaker, Carlsen even interrupted his own game to congratulate 18-year-old Rameshbabu “Pragg” Praggnanandhaa on his victory - and in doing so, he inadvertently coined a new chess catchphrase of ‘Be Like Pragg’. 


The Norwegian explained on the FIDE World Cup broadcast: “My chess club Offerspill, they have a camp right now for young talented players where Ramachandran Ramesh, Pragg’s coach, is the main coach. One of my friends who attended it told me that Ramesh was always telling them ‘be like Pragg, be like Pragg’. So I told Pragg that we all want to be like him today.”


And the on-fire Pragg continued to ‘be like Pragg’ as he almost effortlessly progressed even further in the behemoth knockout contest, by now demolishing Ferenc Berkes of Hungary in the last 16 on Sunday, to go forward to the quarterfinals where, apart from Gukesh, he’ll also be joined by Erigaisi and now the fourth Indian, Vidit Santos, who sensationally knocked out two-time World Championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi in their tiebreak playoff. 


And with the Caruana beating reigning World Cup champion, Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland, the quarterfinals are now shaping up for the two past generational stars, Carlsen and Caruana, possibly having to battle their way through a bevvy of newer generational stars from India - a sure sign of India's growing superpower status, being the only nation other than Russia to have had four players in the World Cup quarterfinals -  all looking to make a name for themselves by taking even bigger scalps and hungry for their first major title plus automatic spots into the Candidates.


Last 16 results:

Carlsen 2-0 Ivanchuk; Wang Hao ½-1½ Gukesh D.; Abasov 2-0 Salem; Vidit 4-2 Nepomniachtchi; Caruana 1½-½ Duda; Dominquez 1½-½ Sarana; Grandelius ½-1½ Erigaisi; Berkes ½-1½ Praggnanandhaa


Quarterfinal Pairings:

Gukesh v Carlsen; Vidit v Abasov; Dominguez v Caruana; Praggnanandhaa v Erigisi

The FIDE World Cup brackets/pairing tree can be found by clicking the link.

GM R Praggnanandhaa - GM Ferenc Berkes 

FIDE World Cup, (5.2)


C02: French Defence, Advance variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 The Advance French was pioneered by the likes of Aron Nimzowitsch in the 1920s, who believed this to be White's best choice and enriched its theory with many ideas and strategies. We don't see it so much in elite praxis, but it has become a popular choice at club level as it involves a simple, straightforward plan with attacking chances and extra space. 3...c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 Bd7 More usual here is 6...c4 designed to stop White playing b4. 7.b4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Rc8 9.Bb2 Nge7 10.Nc3 Na5 11.Bd3 Nc4 12.Bc1 a5 13.O-O axb4 14.Rb1 Qa7 15.axb4 b5 16.h4 Gaining some valuable real estate on the kingside. 16...Qb6 17.Re1 h6 18.Re2 A clever mini rook-lift from Pragg, with the plan of Re2-a2 to dominate the open a-file - a plan that Berkes completely underestimates. 18...Bc6 19.Ra2 Bb7 20.Ra5! This is what perhaps Berkes missed, not realising that Pragg wasn't just going for the straight Rba1. 20...Bc6 Accepting the exchange sacrifice is not losing per se, but it does look like more fun for White to play than for Black to defend against - and analysing some of the lines might well have looked a bit scary for Berkes. After 20...Nxa5 there comes 21.bxa5 Qxa5 22.Nxb5 Nc6 23.Bd2 Qd8 24.Na7! Ra8 25.Rxb7 Rxa7 26.Qb3 Be7 27.Rb6! that forces Black's hand into 27...Kd7 but according to Mr Engine, it looks like White has no better than the amicable bailout with 28.Rxc6 Kxc6 29.Qb5+ Kc7 30.Ba5+ Rxa5 31.Qxa5+ Kb8 32.Qb5+ Kc7 33.Qa5+ and a perpetual check with the draw being a fair result. 21.Qe2 g6?! Too slow. The typical French Advance knight move of 21...Nf5!? seems to offer Black excellent counter-play with chances now for both sides - and note how 22.Rba1? as in the game, backfires to the tactics of 22...Bxb4 23.Ra6 Nxd4! 24.Qd1 Nxf3+ 25.Qxf3 Qc5 26.Na2 Ba5 and White is in trouble. 22.Rba1! The wasted move from Berkes allows Pragg to now dominate the a-file, where there's no looking back. 22...Nf5 Too little too late - but snatching the rook now is no solution. After 22...Nxa5? 23.bxa5 Qb8 24.Nxb5! Black is forced into the danger zone 24...Bxb5 (There's simply no time now for 24...Nf5? 25.g4! Ng7 26.a6 Be7 27.a7 Qb6 28.Nd6+ Bxd6 29.exd6 with numerous winning threats, such as Ne5 or Ra6 followed by Ba3-c5 - take your pick of what you fancy) 25.Bxb5+ Nc6 26.Be3 Be7 27.Rc1! and the Bb5 pin consigns Black to a miserable defence and game. 23.Ra6 Qd8 Berkes went into the tank here, probably trying to make 23...Nxd4 work for him, only to realise that White simply plays 24.Qd1! Nxf3+ 25.Qxf3 Qd8 26.Bxc4 bxc4 27.Ra7 Rc7 (The only move. If 27...Be7 28.b5 Bd7 29.Be3! and Black is in dire straits, though not in a Mark Knopfler playing lead guitar sort of way) 28.Nb5!! Bxb5 29.Rxc7 Qxc7 30.Qf6 Rh7 31.Ra8+ Kd7 32.Rxf8 c3 The only threat Black has - but the c-pawn alone is not enough. 33.Rxf7+ Rxf7 34.Qxf7+ Kd8 35.Qxe6 Qc4 36.Bxh6 c2 37.Bg5+ Kc7 38.Qf7+ Kc8 39.Kh2! Qc6 (If 39...c1=Q 40.Qg8+ Kb7 41.Bxc1 Qxc1 42.Qxd5+ Bc6 43.Qf7+ Kc8 44.Qxg6 etc) 40.Qe7 and, with White threatening Qc5 trading queens and the c1 queening square covered by the bishop, if now 40...c1=Q 41.Qd8+ Kb7 42.Bxc1 Qxc1 43.Qxd5+ Bc6 44.Qf7+ Ka6 45.Qxg6 Qf4+ 46.Qg3 Qxb4 47.h5 White not only has too many pawns for the bishop, but they are threatening to quickly run up the board. 24.g4 Nxh4? Ultimately the losing move from Berkes. He had to hang tough with 24...Ne7 25.Nd2 Bd7 26.Bxc4 bxc4 27.b5 and a difficult game ahead with the kingside knight, bishop and rook effectively out of the loop for the foreseeable, and the only logical continuation being 27...Rb8 28.Nf3! Ng8 (Again, it is too dangerous to snatch the b-pawn as 28...Bxb5? 29.Nxb5 Rxb5 30.Qa2! Nc8 31.Ra8 Qd7 32.Qa6 Rb7 33.Rb1!! winning.

29.Rb1 Ne7 30.Qa2 with a big advantage) 25.Nxh4 Qxh4 26.Bxc4 bxc4 (see diagram) 27.Rxc6! It is hard to imagine that Berkes overlooked this tactical hit, but this is the only conclusion one can draw after the big error of 24...Nxh4. 27...Rxc6 28.Ra8+ Kd7 29.Qf3 f5 Even worse was 29...Qe7? 30.Nxd5!! and Black's position collapses. 30.b5 Rc8 31.Nxd5!! Pragg now concludes matters in a sparkling fashion - a clear warning to all that he's a coming force for everyone to reckon with. 31...Qxg4+ 32.Qxg4 fxg4 33.Nb6+ And Black's position implodes, with the rest of the game now being a formality. 33...Kc7 34.Nxc8 Kb7 35.Ra6 Kxc8 36.Rxe6 Kb7 37.Rxg6 c3 38.Rc6 Bb4 39.Bxh6 Our perennial sidekick, Mr Engine, is being somewhat pedantic here, but it does point out that the killing kill was 39.d5 Ra8 40.Bf4 and the two central passed pawns supported by the rook and bishop will soon crash up the board with impunity. 39...Rd8 40.Rc4 Ba5 41.e6 Kb6 42.e7 Re8 43.Bg5 Kxb5 44.Rc5+ Kb6 45.Rd5! As ruthless as ever, Pragg again finds the the tactical route to victory. 45...Bb4 The alternative was 45...c2 46.Rc5! Bb4 47.Rxc2 Bxe7 48.Re2 and the pin on the e-file wins the bishop. 46.Rd8 Rxe7 47.Bxe7 Bxe7 48.Rc8 g3 49.Rxc3 1-0 And Berkes resigns with his king cut-off on the b-file.

The 42 Paradox

By John B. Henderson • 02 Oct, 2023
Well, well, well. After rampaging his way through many of the finals and opponents throughout the 2023 Champions Chess Tour, Magnus Carlsen’s “final boss” reign came to a screeching halt in what proved to be an enthralling AI Cup Grand Final on Friday, as the favourite was beaten not once but in three games, and over two matches, by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who sensationally grabbed the last remaining spot in the Champions Tour Final in December. Earlier, Carlsen had defeated MVL in the final of the winners’ bracket, before the Frenchman gained the right to a rematch in the double-elimination contest by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final of the losers’ bracket. In the Grand Final, buoyed up and firing on all cylinders, MVL beat Carlsen by a 2½-1½ score.

We'll Meet Again

By John B. Henderson • 29 Sep, 2023
The self-proclaimed “final boss of chess” does what the final boss of chess does best of all: Magnus Carlsen beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final of the AI Cup winners’ bracket, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season, to reach yet another Grand Final in the novel double-elimination contest. But it wasn’t without an epic bare-knuckle street fight from both players, as MVL proved to be a worthy opponent for what looked to be an unstoppable Carlsen, who narrowly prevailed in the Armageddon to take the match 3-2. "This is the sort of thing that happens when you play Sicilians in every game," said a magnanimous Carlsen in victory after four fighting Sicilians left the match tied at 2-2.

Tiers For Fears

By John B. Henderson • 27 Sep, 2023
Fans were treated to arguably the greatest online rivalry in chess history recently, with the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship Grand Final showdown between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura seeing the Norwegian narrowly snatch victory by a solitary win to end the American speed maven’s hopes of a sixth successive victory. But Carlsen’s narrow win left the salivating fans feeling they’d been denied seeing this epic gladiatorial speed contest going into overtime - but they didn’t have to wait long for the rivalry redux, as a couple of days later, both Carlsen and Nakamura went head-to-head yet again in the opening day of the AI Cup, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season.

Bossing It

By John B. Henderson • 25 Sep, 2023
Magnus Carlsen more than lived up to his self-proclamation of being “The Final Boss of Chess” with a revenge-is-sweet narrow victory over fellow chess influencer Hikaru Nakamura, as he denied his long-time arch-rival a sixth successive Chess.com Speed Chess Championship title last Friday. Last year, it was Nakamura who narrowly squeaked home by one point - this time, in yet another thrilling match consisting of three different speed limits - 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 (more commonly known as ‘bullet’) - between the two speed titans, it again ended with the same scoreline, though this time seeing Carlsen triumph by a solitary win after two pulsating hours of thrilling play, as he took the $150,000 2023 Speed Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, 13.5-12.5.

Death, Taxes, Magnus & Hikaru

By John B. Henderson • 22 Sep, 2023
With a smorgasbord of online chess events out there now, the granddaddy of them all is surely the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship , with a $150,000 prize fund that determines just who is the best blitz and bullet players. It has become the perennial fan-favourite with arguably the best viewing experience - and the fans are set for yet another spectacular finale later today, as the two rivals who dominate the roll of honour, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, get set for another explosive showdown in the 2023 final. Friday’s final and commentary, free to view, starts at 14:00 ET (11:00 PT; 20:00 CEST; 23:30 IST) on Chess.com. Carlsen and Nakamura have won each edition since the inaugural Speed Chess Championship event in 2016 - Carlsen won the first two speed titles before taking a hiatus, only for Nakamura to rule the roost, winning four more times.

A Messi Kid

By John B. Henderson • 19 Sep, 2023
India today is a land of amazing young talents and prospects in chess, with the country seemingly having a never-ending production line of prodigies rolling off the factory conveyor belt. But for some countries, such as Argentina, prodigies only seem to come around with all the regularity of Halley’s Comet . One of the first notable post-war chess prodigies was Oscar Panno from Buenos Aires, who became the first world-class player born in South America. In 1953, at the age of 17, he became only the second World Junior Champion , having won the coveted youth title ahead of a strong cadre of future elite-level Grandmasters such as Boris Ivkov (who in 1951 was crowned the first World Junior Ch), Bent Larsen, and Fredrik Olafsson.

The Great Rook 'n' Roll Swindle

By John B. Henderson • 14 Sep, 2023
“Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw or sometimes even steal the full point!” So wrote David Smerdon, an Australian chess grandmaster and one of his country’s leading behavioural economists, on the back cover of his witty and wickedly entertaining, not to mention the much-lauded and deserving 2020 ECF Book of the Year winner, The Complete Chess Swindler (New in Chess).

No Country For Young Men

By John B. Henderson • 11 Sep, 2023
With the top teenage talents being overshadowed in the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid in Kolkata by a dominant performance from seasoned veteran Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, there were hopes of a homeland comeback in the follow-on Blitz tournament - and one looked to be on the cards, only for another “old guy”, this time Alexander Grischuk, crashing the teenage party by capturing the second, even faster speed title. Early doors, all eyes were firmly on Rameshbabu “Pragg” Praggnanandhaa, with his flying start of a perfect 5/5 on the opening day of the two-day double-round contest. But that was as good as it got for the 18-year-old Candidate-qualifier, who could only finish the day on 6.5/9, and despite being the sole leader, he held what looked a very slender half-point lead over nearest rivals Santosh Vidit and Grischuk, ominously the only unbeaten player.

My Indian Summer

By John B. Henderson • 08 Sep, 2023
The past couple of years have proved to be a major one for India - not only a global player with world leaders descending this week in New Delhi for the G20 Summit and recently successfully landing a spacecraft on the moon but now also a fully-fledged chess superpower, with many exciting young talents set to make the country a dominant force for the foreseeable future. Many would even speculate that Indian Chess could well turn into a hegemony, in much the same way as the Soviets dominated the chess scene in the 1945 post-war period until its collapse and ultimate dissolution in 1991. The latest big chess tournament to be held in India coincides with the G20, with the fifth Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz - a spinoff from the larger Dutch super-tournament, the Tata Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee - taking place 5-9 September in Kolkata.

Me & The Kids

By John B. Henderson • 04 Sep, 2023
The fifth and latest leg of the Champions Chess Tour , the Julius Baer Generations Cup more than lived up to its name with the world No.1, Magnus Carlsen, after overpowering Alireza Firouzja in the winners’ final, to effortlessly cruise his way into the Grand Final, declaring: “It’s just me against the kids now!” After three clean kills that included a brace of back-to-back 2½-½ victories over Iranian Amin Tabatabaei and his old title foe Caruana, Carlsen proceeded to sweep Firouzja 3-0 to reach the Grand Final of the contest - but it wasn’t lost on the “old man” that non of his old rivals were left in the competition, and that meant that Denis Lazavik (16), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (18), and Firouzja (20) were the only three left standing to see who would go forward to meet him in the Grand Final.
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