Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa in pursuit
Gukesh - Maze: 1-0
GM Sebastian Maze (FRA, 2524) could have forced a repetition against D Gukesh (2637). Perhaps he did not want to take a draw.
27...Nb2 28.Rb1 Nc4 29.Rbd1 forces a draw. The bishop cannot retreat to b4 due to the threat of a5 which forces it to get trapped. 27...Rxd6 28.Rxd6 Nxd6 29.Rxd6 Rc6 30.Qf3 Rc7 31.Qg4 made the position worse for Black. Black king is vulnerable, the knight can easily exploit it and it would not be easy for Black to thwart them all. Gukesh converted his positional advantage into a win. The extra pawn helped too.
Praggnanandhaa - Pierre: 1-0
GM Praggnanandhaa (2624) made a successful attack on his opponent IM Pierre Laurent-Paoli's (FRA, 2487) king.
Black is lagging in development which White not only has completed but also ready to launch an attack on the kingside. 18.Bd3 h6 19.Rd1 Re8 20.Qb1 White awaits Black to make a mistake. Sometimes waiting is hard to do but if done correctly, one can be rewarded handsomely. Black made a mistake 20...Be6 which allowed White to disintegrate Black's position 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Be4 Qb5 23.Rg3+ and rest is just matter of time and technique for White to convert it into a win.
Highlights
Here are some interesting finishes of Round 4
A total of 244 players including 22 GMs, 27 IMs, 2 WGMs and a WIM are taking part from 39 different federations across the world. The tournament is organized by Icelandic Chess Federation from 6th to 12th April 2022 in the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. The nine-round Swiss league tournament has a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds for 40 moves, with an addition of 30 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Replay Round 4 games
Round 4 results
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
| 1 | 25 | GM | Jarmula Lukasz | 2434 | 3 | 1 - 0 | 3 | GM | Niemann Hans Moke | 2637 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 14 | IM | Yoo Christopher Woojin | 2532 | 2½ | 0 - 1 | 2½ | GM | Idani Pouya | 2638 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 2 | GM | Gukesh D | 2637 | 2½ | 1 - 0 | 2½ | GM | Maze Sebastien | 2524 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 4 | GM | Adhiban B. | 2633 | 2½ | ½ - ½ | 2½ | IM | Peng Li Min | 2517 | 17 | ||
| 5 | 19 | IM | Stefansson Vignir Vatnar | 2501 | 2½ | ½ - ½ | 2½ | GM | Sadhwani Raunak | 2628 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 6 | GM | Praggnanandhaa R | 2624 | 2½ | 1 - 0 | 2½ | IM | Laurent-Paoli Pierre | 2487 | 21 | ||
| 7 | 8 | GM | Warmerdam Max | 2599 | 2½ | ½ - ½ | 2½ | IM | Clarke Brandon G I | 2436 | 24 | ||
| 8 | 22 | GM | Hjartarson Johann | 2465 | 2½ | ½ - ½ | 2½ | GM | Andersen Mads | 2582 | 9 | ||
| 9 | 10 | GM | Fier Alexandr | 2573 | 2½ | 1 - 0 | 2½ | GM | Thorfinnsson Bragi | 2419 | 28 | ||
| 10 | 23 | GM | Williams Simon K | 2464 | 2½ | ½ - ½ | 2½ | GM | Cornette Matthieu | 2569 | 11 |
Round 5 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
| 1 | 1 | GM | Idani Pouya | 2638 | 3½ | 4 | GM | Jarmula Lukasz | 2434 | 25 | |||
| 2 | 10 | GM | Fier Alexandr | 2573 | 3½ | 3½ | GM | Gukesh D | 2637 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 13 | GM | Steingrimsson Hedinn | 2538 | 3½ | 3½ | GM | Praggnanandhaa R | 2624 | 6 | |||
| 4 | 3 | GM | Niemann Hans Moke | 2637 | 3 | 3½ | GM | Gretarsson Hjorvar Steinn | 2542 | 12 | |||
| 5 | 24 | IM | Clarke Brandon G I | 2436 | 3 | 3 | GM | Adhiban B. | 2633 | 4 | |||
| 6 | 5 | GM | Sadhwani Raunak | 2628 | 3 | 3 | GM | Williams Simon K | 2464 | 23 | |||
| 7 | 7 | GM | Gupta Abhijeet | 2616 | 3 | 3 | IM | Sukandar Irine Kharisma | 2386 | 35 | |||
| 8 | 36 | IM | Martin Julian | 2385 | 3 | 3 | GM | Warmerdam Max | 2599 | 8 | |||
| 9 | 9 | GM | Andersen Mads | 2582 | 3 | 3 | IM | Soham Das | 2303 | 51 | |||
| 10 | 37 | IM | Thorfinnsson Bjorn | 2381 | 3 | 3 | GM | Mishra Abhimanyu | 2524 | 16 |
