Prague Chess Festival 2022 Masters R3-4: Harikrishna's beautiful Knightmare

by Shahid Ahmed - 12/06/2022

We all know that two knights cannot force a checkmate to a lone king, only helpmate is possible. What if a pawn is added to the position, does that change the equation? Harikrishna showcased a beautiful way to score a victory which was seemingly a draw. Sure his opponent, Parham made a few mistakes. However, it was the India no.3's immaculate technique that earned him a full point. It is well-known that endgame is his forte, and once again he showed it to the world. Today is a rest day. Round 5 starts tomorrow Monday 13th June at 3 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. IST). Photo: Petr Vrabec/Prague International Chess Festival

Harikrishna shares the lead with Liem

Vidit Gujrathi and Krishnan Sasikiran drew their respective games against Sam Shankland (USA) and Jergus Pechac (SVK).

Harikrishna reminded everyone why he is the endgame maestro | Photo: Petr Vrabec/Prague International Chess Festival

Masters Round 4: Parham - Harikrishna: 0-1

Iran no.1 GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2716) had an opportunity to exchange his bishop with Harikrishna's knight in the middlegame. It would not have been the best decision at that moment. Little did he know that the knight along with the other one will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of the game.

Position after 38...Ra1

38...Ra1 was almost a precursor to what's about to happen in the end. White cannot take it because 39.Rxa1 Nc2+ 40.Ka5 Ra8#

Position after 52.Rc6+

White first gave up his rook to stop the passed pawn at f4, 50.Rxf4 Nxf4 51.Rb6+ Kc7 52.Rc6+ Rxc6 53.bxc6 now this should lead to a draw. However, Harikrishna knew that the White pawns are a liability for the defender and he can squeeze a full point out of it. He showcased correct technique by using his knight to block the pawns' movement 53...Ned5 54.b4 Nb6 55.Kb5 Ne6. Suddenly the white king is forced to go towards black's queenside.

Position after 66.Kh6

White just walked into a checkmate trap. Black used the technique of doing a checkmate with bishop and knight, minus the bishop. 66...Kg4 67.Kh7 Kh5 68.Kg7 Kg5 69.Kh7 Nf7 allowed White one last chance to save the day via 70.Kg8. He missed it and played 70.Kg7 instead and resigned after four more moves.

Harikrishna's immortal Zugzwang + Endgame wizardry | Video: ChessBase India

Round 4: Sam Shankland - Vidit Gujrathi: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Petr Vrabec/Prague International Chess Festival 2022

Round 4: Krishnan Sasikiran - Jergus Pechac: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Petr Vrabec/Prague International Chess Festival 2022

Prague International Chess Festival 2022 Masters Round 3 Live Commentary by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Prague International Chess Festival 2022 Masters Round 4 Live Commentary by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Replay Round 3-4 Masters games

Replay Round 3-4 Challengers games

Schedule

The Round-Robin tournament will take place from 8th to 17th June 2022. Every day except the last round, games will start at 3 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. IST). Sunday 12th June is a rest day. The ninth round game on 17th June will start at 11 a.m. local time (2:30 p.m. IST).

Masters Round 4 results

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	10	2692	GM	Anton Guijarro David	0 - 1	GM	Vallejo Pons Francisco	2703	7
2	8	2718	GM	Shankland Sam	½ - ½	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	2723	6
3	9	2716	GM	Maghsoodloo Parham	0 - 1	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	2701	5
4	1	2681	GM	Navara David	1 - 0	GM	Salem A.R. Saleh	2679	4
5	2	2610	GM	Nguyen Thai Dai Van	½ - ½	GM	Le Quang Liem	2709	3

Round 5 pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	3	2709	GM	Le Quang Liem		GM	Anton Guijarro David	2692	10
2	4	2679	GM	Salem A.R. Saleh		GM	Nguyen Thai Dai Van	2610	2
3	5	2701	GM	Harikrishna Pentala		GM	Navara David	2681	1
4	6	2723	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi		GM	Maghsoodloo Parham	2716	9
5	7	2703	GM	Vallejo Pons Francisco		GM	Shankland Sam	2718	8

Complete pairings

Challengers Round 4 results

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	10	2564	GM	Hracek Zbynek	½ - ½	GM	Abdusattorov Nodirbek	2661	7
2	8	2541	GM	Stocek Jiri	0 - 1	GM	Krzyzanowski Marcin	2535	6
3	9	2613	GM	Warmerdam Max	1 - 0	GM	Michalik Peter	2577	5
4	1	2675	GM	Keymer Vincent	½ - ½	GM	Niemann Hans Moke	2678	4
5	2	2635	GM	Sasikiran Krishnan	½ - ½	GM	Pechac Jergus	2598	3

Round 5 pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	3	2598	GM	Pechac Jergus		GM	Hracek Zbynek	2564	10
2	4	2678	GM	Niemann Hans Moke		GM	Sasikiran Krishnan	2635	2
3	5	2577	GM	Michalik Peter		GM	Keymer Vincent	2675	1
4	6	2535	GM	Krzyzanowski Marcin		GM	Warmerdam Max	2613	9
5	7	2661	GM	Abdusattorov Nodirbek		GM	Stocek Jiri	2541	8

Complete pairings

Time Control

The time control is 90'/40 moves + 30'/end & 30"/move.

Links

Official site

Prague Chess Festival: fb. twitter, instagram and youtube

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