Praggnanandhaa blunders again, goes down to Rapport
Prague (Czech Republic) (PTI): Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa blundered for the second day running and lost to Richard Rapport of Romania in the third round of the Prague Masters Chess tournament underway here.
After briefly going ahead of Viswanthan Anand and attaining the top Indian status in the live rating list, this double blow cost the Indian dearly, and now a lot of hard-work remains in the last six rounds of the 10-player round-robin contest.
It was drama all over, as Praggnanandhaa was not the only one to blow away his chances. Nodirbek Abdusattarov of Uzbekistan turned the tables on local star David Navara from a nearly hopeless position when the latter failed to keep his nerves under pressure after attaining a winning position.
The all-Indian duel between Vidit Gujrathi and D Gukesh ended in a stalemate with neither player able to force matters, while overnight sole leader Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran was held to a draw by top German Vincent Keymer.
In the other game of the day, Nguyen Than Dai Van of Czech Republic defeated Mateusz Bartel of Poland from what was a complicated endgame.
Meanwhile, in another news coming in from Shenzen in China, Arjun Erigaisi become the new India number one defeating Xiangyu Yu of China in the first round of the Shenzen Masters.
As things stand here, Abdusattarov joined Maghsoodloo in the lead on 2.5 points out of a possible three and the two are now trailed by Gukesh and Rapport with 2 points apiece. Gujrathi stands at fifth spot with 1.5 points, a half point ahead of Praggnanandhaa, Navara, Dai Van and Keymer. Bartel, with just a half point, is at the bottom of the table.
It was simply not Praggnanandhaa's day. The Indian did everything right except going past the finish line in his game against Rapport. The Hungarian-turned-Romanian is known for his uncompromising style and off-beat openings. The King's Indian was no exception as Rapport chose something uncommon at this level and Praggnanandhaa made rapid progress in the centre before launching a king-side attack.
Rapport was looking quite lost at one point in the middle game but hung in there till the Indian faltered. The game changed quickly thereafter as Rapport found some study-like defense and romped home.
Gukesh could not make much headway with his white pieces against Gujrathi out of a Berlin defense game. The middle game saw routine exchanges and the players quickly arrived at a minor pieces endgame that was just level.
Results round 3 (Indians unless stated): Vincent Keymer (Ger, 1) drew with Parham Maghsoodloo (Iri, 2.5); R Praggnanandhaa (1) lost to Richard Rapport (Rou, 2); Nodirbek Abdusattarov (Uzb, 2.5) beat David Navara (Cze, 1); Mateusz Bartel (Pol, 0.5) lost to Nguyen Thai Dai Van (Cze, 1); D Gukesh (2) drew with Vidit Gujrathi (1.5).
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
