2nd UzChess Cup R2: Praggnanandhaa pummels Vokhidov, now World no.5
R Praggnanandhaa completely decimated Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB) in Round 2 of 2nd UzChess Cup 2025. Praggnanandhaa got an ideal position for an English Opening player. His opponent did not react correctly by accepting a knight sacrifice. He had to pay a heavy price for it. This win also moved Praggnanandhaa up to World no.5 and India no.2 with a live rating 2777.2. Arjun Erigaisi played a solid draw against Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI). Aravindh Chithambaram did not feel at home from the early part of the game against Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB). He missed all his chances to get back in inferior positions and ended up losing the game. Speaking of missed chances, Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) missed a couple of good chances against Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) and the game ended in a draw. Round 3 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Sindarov misses his chances against Abdusattorov, Yakubboev bounces back
Arjun Erigaisi, Javokhir Sindarov (UZB), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) and R Praggnanandhaa are the four players currently at 1.5/2 in the Masters section. The Challengers section also has four players at 1.5/2 each. They are - GM Mukhiddin Madaminov (UZB), GM Nikolas Theodorou (GRE), GM Andrew Hong (USA) and GM Vitaly Sivuk (SWE). GM Saparmyrat Atabayev (TKM) is the sole player who has won both of his games in the Futures section.
Praggnanandhaa - Vokhidov: 1-0
The sole Classical rated game between GM R Praggnanandhaa (2767) and GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov (2644) occurred almost 7.5 years ago at World Youth Olympiad. Praggnanandhaa won that game. This time also the result was the same. The 45th Olympiad Gold medalist got the perfect position an English opening player desires for.
15.g4 Ba6 16.b3 c6 17.Ng3 Nh7 18.Nh5 g6 19.Bxh6 and we reach the above position. 19...Qh4! is what Black needed to play to stay in the fight. Accepting the knight sacrifice was a big mistake as it increased the vulnerability of his king 19...gxh5?? 20.g5+- Kh8 21.Qxh5 Rg8 22.g6 fxg6 23.fxg6 and White won the game in the next few moves.
Sindarov - Abdusattorov: 0.5-0.5
Last year, GM Javokhir Sindarov (UZB, 2710) defeated GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2767) at the very same event. Sindarov has a 9.5-6.5 score against Abdusattorov in Classical rated games. At one point, Abdusattorov was in a bit of a trouble.
24...Qh4? turned out to be a mistake. 25.e6! fxe6 26.Nxe6?! instead, White needed to play 26.Nxc6 Bxc6 27.Rxe6 and go into the major piece endgame with opposite color bishop to maintain his decisive advantage. Instead, 26...Bxe6 27.Rxe6 Qg4 allowed Black to get back in the game. 28.Re1 Qg6 29.h3 d4 30.Qf3? White's last chance was to regain the upper hand 30.Qc4+ Qf7. 30...Rf8 and the game petered out to a draw.
Aravindh - Yakubboev: 0-1
GM Aravindh Chithambaram (2749) drew both of his Classical battles against GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB, 2659). However, this time he got himself in trouble early in the game.
White played 18.Kd2 which is not the best choice. The counter-intuitive 18.Kf1 is recommended by the computer. 18...Rb8 19.Bd5? White had to play 19.a4 Bc4 20.b3 it's not easy for human to find it okay.
42.Re5?? was the final mistake. Instead, White needed to play 42.Re7 Bc2 43.Kc3 or 42...Kf6 43.Re6+ Kg5 44.Re7 Bd5 45.Re3 and stay in the fight.
For more Round 2 photos, please click at the respective links.
Replay live stream
Replay Challengers Round 2 games
Replay Futures Round 2 games
Time Control
90 minutes for the first 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds increment starting from move one in Masters. For Challengers, Futures and Open, the time control is 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Prizes
The total prize fund is US$ 121500. Masters has $80000, Challengers $25000, Futures $11500 and Open $5000.
Masters Round 2 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2767 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 1 - 0 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | 2644 | 6 | |||
| 2 | 7 | 2710 | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | ½ - ½ | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2767 | 5 | |||
| 3 | 8 | 2714 | GM | Rapport, Richard | ½ - ½ | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 2757 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 9 | 2782 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | ½ - ½ | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | 2691 | 3 | |||
| 5 | 1 | 2749 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | 0 - 1 | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 2659 | 2 |
Standings after Round 2
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | w-we | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2782 | 1,5 | 0 | 1,50 | 1 | 1 | 1,5 | 0,21 | 10 | 2,1 | |
| 2 | 7 | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | UZB | 2710 | 1,5 | 0 | 1,25 | 1 | 1 | 0,5 | 0,65 | 10 | 6,5 | |
| 3 | 5 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | UZB | 2767 | 1,5 | 0 | 0,75 | 1 | 0 | 0,5 | 0,25 | 10 | 2,5 | |
| 4 | 10 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2767 | 1,5 | 0 | 0,25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0,30 | 10 | 3 | |
| 5 | 3 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | IRI | 2691 | 1 | 0 | 1,25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0,15 | 10 | 1,5 | |
| 6 | 8 | GM | Rapport, Richard | HUN | 2714 | 1 | 0 | 0,75 | 0 | 0 | 0,5 | 0,03 | 10 | 0,3 | |
| 7 | 2 | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | UZB | 2659 | 1 | 0 | 0,50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0,29 | 10 | 2,9 | |
| 8 | 1 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2749 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,75 | 0 | 0 | 0,5 | -0,59 | 10 | -5,9 | |
| 9 | 4 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FID | 2757 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,50 | 0 | 0 | 0,5 | -0,63 | 10 | -6,3 | |
| 10 | 6 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | UZB | 2644 | 0 | 0 | 0,00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0,66 | 10 | -6,6 |
Round 3 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2659 | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2767 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 3 | 2691 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | 2749 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 2757 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 2782 | 9 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 2767 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | Rapport, Richard | 2714 | 8 | ||||
| 5 | 6 | 2644 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | 2710 | 7 |
Challengers Round 2 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2589 | GM | Hong, Andrew | 1 - 0 | GM | Vakhidov, Jakhongir | 2539 | 6 | |||
| 2 | 7 | 2594 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | 1 - 0 | IM | Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim | 2370 | 5 | |||
| 3 | 8 | 2634 | GM | Ivanchuk, Vasyl | ½ - ½ | GM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | 2536 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 9 | 2630 | GM | Ma, Qun | ½ - ½ | GM | Sivuk, Vitaly | 2522 | 3 | |||
| 5 | 1 | 2613 | GM | Theodorou, Nikolas | 1 - 0 | IM | Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid | 2490 | 2 |
Futures Round 2 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2450 | IM | Saydaliev, Saidakbar | ½ - ½ | GM | Abdisalimov, Abdimalik | 2490 | 6 | |||
| 2 | 7 | 2588 | GM | Pichot, Alan | 1 - 0 | GM | Ruck, Robert | 2515 | 5 | |||
| 3 | 8 | 2489 | GM | Chatalbashev, Boris | 0 - 1 | GM | Atabayev, Saparmyrat | 2517 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 9 | 2474 | GM | Nigmatov, Ortik | 1 - 0 | GM | Sychev, Klementy | 2513 | 3 | |||
| 5 | 1 | 2520 | GM | Alekseev, Evgeny | 1 - 0 | IM | Begmuratov, Khumoyun | 2470 | 2 |
Schedule
Every day from 19th to 26th June 2025, the round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Only the last round will start at 11 a.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. IST.
Links
Uzbekistan Chess Federation: Telegram, fb page and youtube
