Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa vs Ian Nepomniachtchi (2024)

Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players ·

Kibitzing

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa vs Ian Nepomniachtchi
World Championship Candidates (2024), Toronto CAN, rd 5, Apr-09
Russian Game: Classical Attack. Staunton Variation (C42) · 1/2-1/2

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer). [35434 more games annotated by Stockfish]

explore this opening	find similar games	11 more R Praggnanandhaa/Nepomniachtchi games
	PGN: download \| view \| print	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

TIP: To see the raw PGN for this game, click on the PGN: view link above.

For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.

PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

THIS IS A COMPUTER ANNOTATED SCORE. [CLICK HERE] FOR ORIGINAL.

Apr-10-24		Sally Simpson: Pragg took 7 minutes on 24.Rxd6 click for larger view I cannot see what else. Maybe 24.Qg4 with the threat of Rxc5 and Qe3 mate. Cannot stop the mate and save the Bishop- it can sac on h2. I suppose these guys have to look at everything. OK I'll let him off.

Apr-10-24		Teyss: What a game. Pragg certainly worked on his opening prep with Peter. He was blitzing and by move 23 had around 1h50 left on his clock while Nepo had around 50': the latter spent 40 minutes (!) for 19...cxd5 and 21 minutes cumulated for moves 20 and 22. 16.Bh3 is only in three other games in the DB and 16...Qxc3 is new (the 3 other games went 16...Qc7). So 21.Nxf7!? was a TN inside a TN with a very sharp game. click for larger view Here Nepo missed 23...Bxh2+: since you're losing the B, why not gain a P and expose the K? As <Sally Simpson> mentioned, Pragg then spent a lot of time thinking: 36 minutes on moves 24 to 26. He was probably out of prep and still had a sizeable advantage just before move 26 (+2.6 at 36 ply). click for larger view It does make sense to control the long diagonal but the B on f5 becomes a target for R+Q. Apparently 26.Qe5 pinning the g7 P was better. Someone like Caruana or... Nepo would likely have seen it. 26...Nb7 was a good defence move and afterwards it was apparently equal. Great fighting game. Very impressed by Pragg notably his prep (a Schliemann and now this) but maybe he's a bit young and missing the extra depth to capitalise on openings in sharp situations.

Apr-10-24		offramp: In this position White could play .... click for larger view 5. Nxf7. But he didn't play it. Instead he went all around the houses. click for larger view Then he played.... 21. Nxf7!

Apr-10-24		FM David H. Levin: <<Teyss>: Here Nepo missed 23...Bxh2+: since you're losing the B, why not gain a P and expose the K?> I doubt that he "missed" 23...Bxh2+, and the move seems to have several drawbacks: 1. Although the White king would be "exposed" after 23...Bxh2+, Black's pieces aren't positioned to exploit this. Also, White would no longer have to be concerned about a back-rank mate or even a back-rank check. 2. In the game continuation, White had to expend a tempo to play 24.Rxd6. 3. After 23...Bxh2+ 24.Kxh2 Nc5, White could use the "gained tempo" to further mobilize for an attack, such as by 25.Re1. Black's queen would be far from the kingside, and his knight would be temporarily pinned. I surmise that Black evaluated White's attacking chances after 23...Bxh2+ as worth at least a pawn.

Apr-10-24		Teyss: Hi David, Thanks for your valuable feedback. I said "missed" because Nepo played 23...Nc5 in less than 2 minutes so he made a quick decision, maybe to avoid being even farther behind on the clock. 1 and 3. Good points especially the back-rank check and the pinned Knight. 2. It's not really a lost tempo since the Rook vacates the d5 square for the Queen with check. Actually Black loses a tempo with Kg8 to take shelter. The WQ is ideally placed here and unfortunately Pragg didn't fully capitalise on this. As you say, Nepo probably considered 23...Bxh2+ and rapidly rejected it: was he right or not? Since I'm a patzer I rely on SF when it gets too complicated for me and according to the engine he should have played it, but of course there are human and strategic considerations that cannot be measured. The bottom line is Nepo, despite all his experience at high level including in Candidates, got shaken by this young GM in the opening, in the middlegame, on the clock and probably psychologically.

Apr-11-24		Saniyat24: The heart-breaking draw...!

Apr-28-24		cormier: depth=39 \| Stockfish 16 +0.19 16. Qb3 Qc7 17. Bc4 c5 18. Bd5 Nc6 19. Rfd1 Rad8

Apr-29-24		Atking: "I'm sorry"

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
Nothing in violation of United States law.
No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
No trolling.
The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.

NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.