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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Iran foreign minister Araghchi meets Pakistan Army chief Munir
Islamabad (PTI): Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday met Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir here, as Islamabad continued its efforts to facilitate engagement between the US and Iran.
The meeting, according to a short video posted by the Iranian embassy on social media, was also attended by Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, and Iran's ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam.
Araghchi calls on Munir, the embassy said in the video caption.
It did not provide further details about the discussions.
Araghchi arrived here late Friday for engagements with the Pakistani leadership. He was received by senior officials, including Munir, foreign minister Ishaq Dar and interior minister Mohsin Naqvi.
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However, there is no clarity on whether direct talks between Washington and Tehran will take place during the visit.
"No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US. Iran's observations would be conveyed to Pakistan," Baqaei said in a social media post on Saturday.
Araghchi, before leaving for Islamabad, said that he was embarking on a timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow, and the purpose of his visits is to "closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments".
"Our neighbours are our priority," he said.
As the Iranian team landed in Islamabad, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that US Special Envoy on the Middle East Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's adviser Jared Kushner would be leaving for Pakistan on Saturday "to engage in direct talks" with representatives of the Iranian delegation.
However, the US team has not yet arrived.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dar, in a social media post, expressed hope for "meaningful engagements" between the two warring parties to promote regional peace and stability.
The first round of US-Iran talks held on April 11 and 12 failed to produce a breakthrough, prompting a flurry of diplomatic efforts by host Pakistan to cool tensions and revive hopes for another round of dialogue.
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 Iran war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes.
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