Candidates chess: Gukesh slips to tied 2nd after draw; losses for Pragg, Gujrathi
Toronto (PTI): Grandmaster D Gukesh played out a creditable draw against top seed Fabiano Caruana but slipped a rung to the joint second position on a day when two other Indians endured frustrating losses in the Candidates Chess Tournament's 11th round here.
Nerves finally came into play as R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi lost their way against American Hikaru Nakamura and Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi respectively.
But 17-year-old Gukesh held his own against Caruana. In the other encounter, Frenchman Firouza Alireza proved superior to Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan.
With just three rounds remaining, the die seems to be cast in favour of Nepomniachtchi, who is gunning for his third straight Candidates title.
The Russian, who has to compete under the FIDE flag here owing to his country's international suspension, shot back to sole lead on seven points out of a possible 11 and it would be difficult for other contestants to get past him.
Caruana, Nakamura and Gukesh are in pursuit of the leader half a point behind in the standings.
Praggnanandhaa and Gujrathi have fallen apart with 5.5 and five points respectively. Coming back from behind is Alireza, who probably has no contest from Abasov in the bottom half.
In the women's competition, the Chinese continued to dominate as Zhongyi Tan scored over Kateryna Lagno of Russia to regain sole lead ahead of compatriot Tingjie Lei, who played out a draw with Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine.
R Vaishali came back roaring, albeit a bit late, to beat top-seeded Russian Aleksandra Goryachkina while Koneru Humpy proved too good to avenge her early loss at the hands of Nurgyul Salimova of Bulgaria.
Tan continued to reign supreme with seven points. Lei stood half a point behind, and the Russian duo of Lagno and Goryachkina were virtually out of the race along with a resurgent Humpy, who has warmed up towards the close, with 5.5 points.
Praggnanandhaa, who has been quite popular among the fans, played with white and faced an irregular queen pawn opening. For once, the Indian did not seem to know much about the subtleties.
Nakamura took command when necessary and it was one of those days for Praggnanandhaa when nothing went right. The Indian lost a piece trapped in the corner of the board and Nakamura was never going to let him get away with any lapses.
Gujrathi lost to Nepomniachtchi out of a Petroff defense. The opening has been serving well for the Russian since 2018 when he won his first Candidates tournament and it did not disappoint him.
The middle game saw Gujrathi on top more than once but Nepomniachtchi hung in there to his credit.
Gujrathi had more than a few chances to come up victorious but one spoiler took over another till Nepomniachtchi had the game firmly in his grasp.
The Russian is a known technician and won a piece for effectively no counter-play. The rest was easy.
Gukesh was the only one to keep his nerves intact despite his tender age. The Queen's gambit landed in a worse position for the talented lad but he fought on to equalise against Caruana in the ensuing queen and pawns endgame.
In the women's section, Humpy skilfully won a pawn against Salimova out of a queen pawn opening. The Bulgarian tried hard for a counter-play but that did not happen and in the endgame, Humpy was class personified.
Liquidating into a rook and pawns endgame, Humpy showed her true mettle and went on to score a commendable victory.
For Vaishali it was a game of fluctuating fortunes in which she had several chances to force a draw. Goryachkina might have been satisfied with a drawn result but Vaishali was on a mission in the Queen's and pawns endgame. The game lasted 70 moves.
Results round 11 (Indians unless specified):
D Gukesh (6.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 6); Vidit Gujrathi (5) lost to Ian Nepomniachtchi (Fid, 7); R Praggnanandhaa (5.5) lost to Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 6.5) (Aze, 3); Firouza Alireza (Fra, 4.5) beat Nijat Abasov (Aze, 3).
Women: Koneru Humpy (5.5) beat Nurgyul Salimova (Bul, 4); R Vaishali (4.5) beat Aleksandra Goryachkina (Fid, 5.5); Zhongyi Tan (7.5) beat Kateryna Lagno (Fid, 5.5); Tingjei Lei (Chn, 7) drew with Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 4.5).
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
