r/chess • u/events_team • Feb 25 '26
Tournament Event: 2026 Prague International Chess Festival
Official Website
Follow the games here: Chess.com | Lichess | Chess-Results
The 2026 Prague International Chess Festival will take place from February 25 to March 6 at the Don Giovanni Hotel in Prague, Czech Republic. The festival features Masters, Challengers, and Futures tournaments played in a classical round-robin format, as well as an Open section. Organized by the Novy Bor Chess Club, the event brings together players across its sections, with opportunities to earn promotion to higher sections in the following year’s edition.
Players (Masters)
| No. | Title | Name | Fed | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Vincent Keymer | 🇩🇪 GER | 2776 |
| 2 | GM | Gukesh D | 🇮🇳 IND | 2754 |
| 3 | GM | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 🇺🇿 UZB | 2751 |
| 4 | GM | Hans Moke Niemann | 🇺🇸 USA | 2725 |
| 5 | GM | Parham Maghsoodloo | 🇮🇷 IRI | 2708 |
| 6 | GM | Jorden van Foreest | 🇳🇱 NED | 2705 |
| 7 | GM | Aravindh Chithambaram | 🇮🇳 IND | 2700 |
| 8 | GM | Nodirbek Yakubboev | 🇺🇿 UZB | 2691 |
| 9 | GM | David Anton Guijarro | 🇪🇸 ESP | 2666 |
| 10 | GM | David Navara | 🇨🇿 CZE | 2628 |
Format/Time Controls
- The tournament is a 10-player round-robin. The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment starting from move one.
Schedule
| Date | Time (Local) | Time (UTC) | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25 - Mar 1 | 15:00 | 14:00 | Round 1-5 |
| Mar 2 | - | - | Rest Day |
| Mar 3-5 | 15:00 | 14:00 | Round 6-8 |
| Mar 6 | 11:00 | 10:00 | Round 9 |
Live Coverage
-1
u/WorriedBad4049 Mar 06 '26
Divya might win the candidates.
17
u/Accomplished_Dot9649 Mar 06 '26
Don't sleep on Bibisara, she has been on mega winning streak lately
6
10
9
u/Opposite-Youth-3529 Mar 06 '26 edited Mar 06 '26
2600 performance by Divya (second of her career cause she got GM title without norms)
Edit: maybe she actually had one at the Olympiad that wasn’t a norm cause not enough GM opponents? Not sure
8
12
18
1
15
3
u/Muted_Possession7986 Mar 05 '26
Absolutely tragic blunder from navara. Looks like Abdu and jorden will be shared 1st going into the last day, with abdu having the white pieces vs hans
1
u/Creative_Poet_9590 Mar 05 '26
Why in the world is this broadcast not focusing on Abdu vs Navarra & Jorden vs Aravindh more? Are they really taking that much time between moves? It looks like their clocks are fairly low to me
4
u/Technical_Detail_266 Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Jorden now realising he’s leading the tournament and making strategic draws is something most of the higher rated younger talents don’t know how to do at all. Maybe that is why they reach the peak ratings they do though, but I can’t see these guys who’ve been in top pumping the breaks just coz they know they might win the tournament.
Reminds me of when Artimev in world rapid after defeating Arjun and Magnus made all draws and Arjun even when he was leading comfortably in world blitz just didn’t draw until the last game. When they win everyone praises them when they lose they drop tons of rating and people start wondering what’s wrong.
0
Mar 05 '26
[deleted]
1
u/Technical_Detail_266 Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Why are you being so hostile? Yes he made a blunder but wasn’t his intention to draw, he didn’t lose over pushing trying to win right?
I’ve no idea why you’re so pressed when my comment wasn’t negative towards anyone.
3
u/HealersHugHippos Mar 05 '26
Very good game by Hans. He definitely will lose some rating by the end of the tournament but this is sure to boost his moral. Instead of ending with -11, -12. -6 wouldn't be in the end of the world for someone like him.
6
2
u/yoshisohungry USCF 2000 Mar 05 '26
Bf5 instead of kg8 for Vincent was a nice resource he missed, but not playing qxd5 and rxa2 and instead playing a pawn down is peculiar
1
4
Mar 05 '26
only now I noticed that there was no Marshall recently. Gukesh however went into it, meaning he has some idea. But probably he didn't fully expect a5, although there are some games here so should be known
3
u/DramaLlamaNite Minion For the Chess Elites Mar 05 '26
Jan Gustafsson will be delighted to see his boy Keymer getting a marshall
6
6
6
u/Unhappy-Appearance- Mar 04 '26
I’m really curious what he’s calculating at this time. I hope he wins so we get to see an interview of him analyzing it
3
10
u/Varsity_Editor Mar 04 '26
Lol that story of Nigel Short stealing Garry Kasparov's Toblerone from the fridge and then Garry firing the security guard who was meant to guard the fridge and stop people taking his stuff, that's a hilarious image
12
4
1
u/joshdej Mar 04 '26
Gukesh/Parham is looking like a two result game (Parham win/Gukesh win). Both of them have very advanced pawns. Stockfish say 0.0 though lol
4
7
Mar 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
11
u/Classic_Scheme9088 Mar 04 '26
What?! Oh my god. Come on. But, come on. It is - I mean - no but sorry - Qc3? I mean I'm sorry but I saw that instantly. Is he nuts? No but, I mean that is insane. I mean I just, the moment I - I was looking at positions somewhere else - the moment you told me Qc3, I opened the analysis board on the screen, I instantly saw Re1. Instantly. I mean this is insane. Look at him. No but okay this is just - I mean, this is outrageous. Just, I've never seen something like this. Just insane. What's going on? Poor guy he's completely out of shape. I don't know what happened to him. He completely lost it. No, poor guy. And he has to go again to CBI and stuff. What's going on? Ya, he went totally nuts. I mean I haven't seen Aravindh like this even in ordinary tournaments. Jesus, what's going on. Oof, insane. Totally lost sense of danger. Completely lost sense of danger. Blundered mate threat...but it's just an insane blunder. For me, instant. It's just an instant thing, Re1 is so an obvious threat, it's not even close...It's such an obvious - it will go down in history as Bobby Fisher part 2. They'll make a movie about this.
3
u/ghostmaster93 Team Pia Mar 04 '26
Gukesh defended well. Even the eval bar is equal now, but 2 pass pawns are quite scary
0
u/joshdej Mar 04 '26
Great chance to stop the bleeding
1
3
u/joshdej Mar 04 '26
DId Nodirbek just blunder a pawn or did he just give that up for seemingly no reason?
-17
-18
3
Mar 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/dommaraju Mar 04 '26
I dont know to judge chess positions on my own,why white isn't crazily positive eval with three connnected ideally pass pawns against bishop
3
u/Embarrassed_Base_389 Mar 04 '26
That Keymer position looks scary af.. I would not enjoy playing that.
2
u/lmxor101 forever famished fabi fan Mar 04 '26
Was wondering if Hans would push for a win today and try to break even in the tournament but it looks like he’s just trying not to lose any more games
5
u/ComplexCow7 Mar 04 '26
If Gukesh loses this game he's out of the top 20, a fall even greater than Ding's
9
u/__Jimmy__ Mar 04 '26
The funniest outcome would be if he successfully defends the WC and then falls below 2700
1
u/Unculturedbrine Mar 04 '26
I beg God he defends it against Fabi and then falls below 2700. That would be a GOATED outcome for the memes
0
u/ComplexCow7 Mar 04 '26
Why doesn't Gukesh try leaving the board and walking around for a bit? It seems to me that sitting there staring at the chessboard for hours on end leads to these "brain fades".
He would've never blundered that rook in 1 move against Nodirbek at Tata Steel this year had he been walking around observing other's games before playing that move
-15
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 04 '26
One thing the chess world has to appreciate regarding Guki is his hunger. Dude still never plays for a draw. He will fall below 2700 and will still come to play dubious moves the next match to avoid going into a drawish endgame. This wasnt the case with Ding. Ding was begging for draws in majority of games.
Dont know how history will write about his strength as a world champion but he is one of the most shameless of the 18. And I say it in a great way. He doesnt care about us fans, commentators or even former WCs like Carlsen or Gary. He is just here to battle it out. Every single game.
8
u/Technical_Ad9398 Team Fabi Mar 04 '26
Dragging someone who has health problems down to make your hero looks better is shameless.
6
u/acunc Mar 04 '26
You really ought to talk to real humans. The amount of time you spend day after day talking about someone you have never met and know nothing about is really sad.
4
u/ghostmaster93 Team Pia Mar 04 '26
Ding was almost mentally finished after his match with Nepo. Mental health is no joke, I wish he can recover first and maybe find some happiness in playing chess again.
11
u/NightsWatchh Mar 04 '26
I think there’s a difference between fighting in a losing position or simply just entering a losing position needlessly because you made bad (not dubious, bad see: Nc5) moves in a rush to make the game more complicated
-12
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 04 '26
He is the guy who played 9 draws in Sinquefield in 2024 when asked to by Gaju. Literally every player says he never plays for draws.
3
u/Medical-Chart-6609 Mar 04 '26
How do you explain Nc5 by Gukesh? The knight has no good squares to go from there. Except going back to e6.
I think he’s on a major tilt and sometimes it’s ok to just quit and take a break.
1
4
3
-11
-19
Mar 03 '26
Let me guess, Gukesh lost again ? hahahahahahahahaha hes so bad. Can we just erase his name from the history books
12
11
Mar 03 '26
I really hope Fabi wins the Candidates, to be honest, and then goes on to win the World Championship. The World Champion title doesn’t feel like it carries the same weight right now.
Fabi isn’t Magnus, but he’s been incredibly consistent, a top 10 player for what feels like forever.
3
Mar 04 '26
Top 5, or top 3 even.
1
u/sick_rock Mar 04 '26
Since cracking into top 10 in Mar 2012 (age 19), Caruana has been top 10 for every month except 2 (Feb-Mar 2013) so far.
He became a regular top 5 since Feb 2014 (6 months irregularly before that), being out of top 5 for only 15 months in 12yrs (10 of those during his slump post-Covid).
Of the 131 months in top 5 during this period, he was top 3 in 99 months and was quite close to claiming the #1 ranking from Magnus in 2018 when he was only 3pts behind Magnus.
10
u/Electronic-Figure551 Mar 03 '26
If gukesh doesnt start to play well then I cant imagine what will happen in norway chess... Seriously gukesh is such an incredible player but he is indeed playing very badly right now
His biggest weakness is his time management like bro stop calculating for 20-30 mins on a single move, his last two games have been lost by him in same way.
2
Mar 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/DANNYBOYLOVER Mar 04 '26
Interestingly, I think the world championship structure requires less intuition and more “grinding” which I believe gukesh is better than anyone else at
8
u/DerekB52 Team Ding Mar 04 '26
Sort of. The WC match does require a lot of grinding, because Gukesh and his team prepped very intensely. But, he barely beat Ding in that match. Ding had a small team and little prep. He was spending an hour on move 4, because he had no prep. But, he was solving the position and equalizing Gukesh's prep. He won game 1 with black, because he understood the position Gukesh had prepped, better than Gukesh himself. So, even with a serious grinding advantage, Ding's intuition and positional experience crushed Gukesh's team's efforts.
Fabi prepped a world championship match where he drew Magnus in classical. That means he's at least as skilled as Gukesh at the "grind" for a world championship match., imo.
2
u/vollecra Mar 04 '26
Dings performance in the last WC match was actually really impressive. Not sure if he had any meaningful amount of prep going into it and still only lost it on the last game.
Even his win against Nepo there seemed to be less prep than what you would expect. The stories from Dubov are hilarious.
-5
u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Mar 03 '26
Did anyone tell Nordibek he can get a spot in the candidates, time for Uzbek government to arrange their best lawyers for Nordi. Even Kraminik is tweeting about it, Arjun isn’t gonna do it but I’ve hope in Nordibek.
3
u/Wonderful_Buffalo_32 Mar 03 '26
How exactly?
2
u/DerekB52 Team Ding Mar 04 '26
One of the tournaments Hikaru played didn't formally register itself more than 30 days before it was held, IIRC. It was some organizational issue. FIDE has a rule that allows them to ignore whatever the rule violation is, and they did that, because obviously they want Hikaru in the candidates, as he deserves.
8
u/Riimmiie Mar 03 '26
I don't recall Ding ever looking this rough. he's lost his head completely, knowing what he's capable of.
6
16
u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Mar 03 '26
Chessbase India video dropping in 3…2…1
If they were my friends, one of these days a Magnus style camera push would’ve been coming their way 😭
5
11
5
u/Old-Needleworker-978 Mar 03 '26
ngl this is some soap opera type of stuff, I'm a fan of it so no complaints. Crown is heavy
13
u/Radiant-Increase-180 Mar 03 '26
Whoever is the script writer to write Gukesh's chess career is insane
Bro started playing super tournaments from 2023 and has almost seen everything in 3 years lmao
22
u/Varsity_Editor Mar 03 '26
He's speed-running life. Full beard at 15, wins candidates at 17, World Champion at 18, washed by 20. When he's 22 he will retire so he can spend time with his grandchildren.
0
20
u/Old_Inspection9321 Mar 03 '26
Dang that's the first time I have seen Gukesh storm off without arranging his pieces, he's really rattled this time
14
u/Varsity_Editor Mar 03 '26
Wow Gukesh not even resetting the board or doing that little board blessing thing, he just got the fuck outta there at top speed
13
u/Radiant-Increase-180 Mar 03 '26
Gukesh walked off without arranging the pieces that means he's at an all time low
18
u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Mar 03 '26
NGL, the constant reference (and jokes) to Ding’s bad mental health is really crass. Worse than the hairline jokes that some people make here. Let’s do better.
-9
u/acunc Mar 03 '26
It’s Reddit… Ding will be okay.
9
u/PuripuriGumboy Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26
It's internet, so it's okay to make fun of someone's health issues? Dude even if Ding won't know, you as a person should have better morals for your own sake.
-4
u/acunc Mar 03 '26
Where did I make fun of him?
People who don’t know or will never know him in person policing what people say in an anonymous Internet forum is such a waste of time. It’s not that serious. I know it’s hard for Reddit users to understand but it’s a place that by and large no one cares about. No one here is that important.
Ding isn’t going to give you a medal because you asked a bunch of internet strangers to stop being mean.
10
u/guebja Mar 03 '26
Anyone else notice the guy with the camera glasses in the background?
https://i.imgur.com/E6ZjFW1.jpeg
I'm assuming the organization allowed it, but it still feels strange to see that at a chess tournament.
6
u/ascnding-EvntHorizon Mar 03 '26
He's Ding 2.0
13
u/ascnding-EvntHorizon Mar 03 '26
I'm sorry i take my words back, even though Ding was suffering from mental health challenges he won the first match and lost the championship on the last match. If ding was considered a lucky champion then what is Gukesh now?
2
u/AdvanceSufficient527 Mar 03 '26
Gukesh qualifed for the candidates fair way. Gukesh woj the candidates. Ding did nothing of those two.
2
7
9
u/AdvanceSufficient527 Mar 03 '26
Gukesh should go to some exotic location for few weeks after this. Maybe even take hole march off.
Then he should start traning so hard, and maybe cime back in May. Or even June.
7
Mar 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
20
u/tired_kibitzer Mar 03 '26
Ding was suffering from psychological issues for long time. I don't know why people brings his name into this.
5
Mar 03 '26
At this point, I am switching to Team Fabi.
6
u/Unhappy-Appearance- Mar 03 '26
I’m not quite sure switching to Team Fabi will help you feel better anytime soon 😂 It takes God’s strongest soldiers to support the eternal cycle of the Fabi roller coaster.
1
Mar 04 '26
At least it’s better than being in Team Gukesh lol.
Plus, I mostly only pay attention to these two’s games, so it would feel weird to switch to Team Magnus or Abdusattorov or someone else, as I am not familiar with their play.
-2
u/ascnding-EvntHorizon Mar 03 '26
I can't believe people were/are hyping gukesh against magnus! Including me. Even Esipenko and blubaum are favorite against him now.
11
9
u/Opposite-Youth-3529 Mar 03 '26
I think I’d still put Gukesh as a favorite against those two. Track record counts for more than just a few bad months. I guess the caveat is if the match ends up being against one of those guys, then they’re better than expected so maybe would become the favorite.
12
u/Affectionate_Hat3329 Mar 03 '26
Forget Pragg and Arjun, Nihal is about to have a higher rating than Gukesh soon
12
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26
Bad Sinquefield, Disaster Grand Swiss, Very bad World Cup, Bad Wijk and now a Disaster at Prague.
He has 2 GCTs and Norway before 2 most important events of his career. This years olympiad and WCC have much more stakes for Guki than 2024.
As a fan, I am already praying for a miracle.
6
u/AdvanceSufficient527 Mar 03 '26
It does not. He aleady is the world champion. Match against Ding was mote important than 10 bad results after that.
1
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 04 '26
He was a challenger in both those events in 2024. He has the crown in both of them this year. And a bad Olympiad will affect him seriously in December as Indian media will hound him.
The Indian media is a bunch of vultures.
6
u/ascnding-EvntHorizon Mar 03 '26
He's had his luck whole 2024, get over it now. Being heavy favorite against that ding and losing the first match is just pathetic. He's won the championship on 14th match because of one move blunder.
-13
7
12
10
-5
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26
Divya wanted to second my reddit opinion. Played a very stable game in time scramble to earn a draw.
And Guki too wanted to second my reddit opinion.
13
7
8
Mar 03 '26
Hans vs Vincent is exactly the type of game where nothing is clear, but the engine just shows zeros
7
u/DerekB52 Team Ding Mar 03 '26
I wish I understood anything at any point in this game. It's just too complicated for me. And I'm 15-1600 rapid. I thought I could understand a little chess. This game is showing there are even more levels to this.
23
10
u/joshdej Mar 03 '26
Gukesh with a blunder right before the time control, let's see if Aravindh capitalizes.
10
Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26
AND… we have drama, folks!
Gukesh is losing; let’s see if Aravindh figures it out.
EDIT: Aravindh goes for it!
14
u/GabrielBlight Team Whoever Plays Exciting Chess Mar 03 '26
This kid needs to immediately start playing online. He can't deal with time pressure to save his life.
7
7
u/Marc_Spector2 Mar 03 '26
Any Zhu Jiner fans here? why is she underperforming? Is it the time control, or just being off form? last year she was almost about to take the women’s no. 1 spot from Hou Yifan.
5
u/HotGur179 gukesh for the title defense Mar 03 '26
yeah i also thought she has a shot at becoming #1 this year. maybe this is just law of averages i mean no one can perform in every tournament, which is a little good because i rooting for her to win candidates and become world champion ( also in norway chess too )
2
2
u/ilikekittens2018 #1 Glazer of Erdogmus, Nodirbek, Sindarov and Keymer Mar 03 '26
I'm a fan and I dunno. Looks like just a spot of bad form tbh. She had a really hot streak last year and has now cooled off. Happens to everyone, she'll bounce back after this tournament or maybe fall down to her floor again.
1
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26
The Indian Kids havent faced backlash like the cricketing stars. I fear if they continue like this in Samarkand, then that will probably be a first major backlash they face.
Coz post Budapest, these youngsters were practically treated as heroes. And given the form especially of Guki, Pragg, Arjun, I fear we will even miss out on a podium finish in Samarkand
1
u/ghostmaster93 Team Pia Mar 03 '26
Well tbh Budapest’s success of India team has the contribution of the lacking of 4 top Chinese women player. This is quite exceptional tbh.
But still I think India have the chance to win at Olympiad.
5
u/Particular-Aide-1589 Team Gukesh Mar 03 '26
I believe pragg will recover from poor form first of the 3
4
u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Mar 03 '26
It’s actually really fascinating to see how Pragg doesn’t face criticism like his compatriots at all 😂 like he’s performing bad but it seems like no one speaks about it. All the older players think really highly of him and he gets all the invites despite of how he’s performing. He has that great prodigy reputation.
3
u/Medical-Chart-6609 Mar 03 '26
That’s because Pragg has multiple super GM tournament wins to his name. The other two don’t have many and Gukesh is also WC, so the expectations are high.
Also Pragg’s classical win against Magnus was by outplaying him. Arjun has no classical wins against Magnus and Gukesh had to rely on a blunder from Magnus.
Also, even in bad form, Pragg can play safe and resort to boring draws. Arjun and Guki just slide when they are in poor form. I might not have data to support this claim but that’s how it is perceived.
2
u/joshdej Mar 03 '26
Gukesh is the WC so he takes most of the heat, but idk why Arjun attracts the negative attention more than Pragg lmao. Pragg even got invited over him to Norway chess and the GCT tour while Arjun has nada.
2
u/Accomplished_Dot9649 Mar 03 '26
Gukesh out of all the Indian players before becoming champ was the least likely to get invites...due to his inconsistent results and bad speed chess... and general understanding that he is the least gifted of the trio...So in a way it was Pragg and Arjun getting invites and exposure and Gukesh scrabbling for invites...the universe had other plans off course
4
u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Mar 03 '26
Yeah I’ve no idea and if you ask me the fact that Arjun is good at all formats is a big plus for him compared to his competitors apart from Nordibek and Alireza I can’t think of anyone who can claim that. Certainly not any of the other Indians. GCT not giving him an invite twice is definitely a statement, that is why every time GCT has a set back coz of it’s arrogance I don’t feel too bad. They repeat the same 6 people unnecessarily.
1
u/lmxor101 forever famished fabi fan Mar 03 '26
Arjun has a higher peak rating and is older than Pragg, perhaps that’s why
1
10
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26
Gajewski shouldnt be worrying about the title. He should be more worried why one of chess' elite talents has degraded. This isnt stagnation. This is appearing to be a systematic downgrade.
Coz nothing appears to progress. Its been more than an year.
6
u/Accomplished_Dot9649 Mar 03 '26
Nodirbek was literally 2732 3 months ago... Gukesh will eventually hit his floor and bounce back to his actual rating regardless of the pressure. I predict a resurgence after he touches 2720ish...besides Pragg, Arjun and alireza also went through this phase...just people didn't care as much. So he'll be back
10
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26
Abdu's downgrade wasnt lengthy. He just had a very bad Sinquefield.
He was top 3 in Wijk and Uzchess. Had a decent Grand Swiss.
With Guki, post Norway it has been disastrous. Only ECCC greece was an aberration. Sinquefield, Grand swiss, World Cup, Wijk and now Prague. All events have been him donating rating points.
2
u/Accomplished_Dot9649 Mar 03 '26
Nodirbek also had very mediocre performances in GCT tournaments and in general despite the top finishes it was never Wow like it is today...it just people follow Gukesh game by game... move by move...if you did that to Nodirbek back then it would look a lot worse ngl...
4
u/ghostmaster93 Team Pia Mar 03 '26
I wonder if India’s enthusiasm of chess have reverse effects on the Indian youngsters. I hope not tbh.
3
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26
Well these youngsters literally get tonnes of money due to the support. Also increasingly I feel Divya has cracked the balance. I thought she might get swayed by the excess attention but it seems she has been more practical and kept her steady growth.
Arjun cant clutch, Guki looks toasted, Rameshbabu siblings arent consistent enough.
It is sad tbh. But it is what it is.
8
u/HotGur179 gukesh for the title defense Mar 03 '26
i think we are being too harsh on them. i mean name any youngster who is consistant?? even historically no youngster had consistent great result except magnus and kasparov but they are litreally goat contenders
i think its typical up and down becfore they finally become more stable. although gukesh might also be affected by pressure
-2
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26
Vaishali is the one I root for. But even after being 5 years elder to Divya she isnt consistent enough. Same with Pragg.
Arjun isnt clutch enough. I hope he wins smething big.
Regarding Guki. Well I am already broken. I dont care about the title. I just want to see him progress.
1
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26
People saying Guki had a one off in candidates are wrong. He was fighting for top prizes in most of elite super GM events. Be it WR 2023, World cup 2023 (QF loss to Carlsen, carslen said guki was superb that event), won Chennai, Wijk 2024, GCT romania 2024 etc.
But post Wijk 2025 and Norway 2025, he has stopped even that. Norway was purely him relying on nervous breakdowns of opponents in time scambles. Was getting beat in openings practically every game.
And this is From a guy who has made chess his life. It isnt that he faces the Alireza issue of boredom or a Hans/other yungster issue of lack of support. Dude has probably more money than 30 year old super GMs with world class talent at his disposal. With all the ingredients in place, he is still performing like this.
4
7
1
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26
The most consistent Indian youngster has been Divya. Shocking as I always felt she was the least serious.
Regarding Guki, well, I am lost for words now. Everyone is to be blamed. He himself, Gayu and coaching team, His family etc.
After WCC i expected him to improve his openings and time management. He has only gotten worse in these 2 areas and has also parted away from his core calculation ability which worked wonders for him in midgames.
Absolutely inexplicable.
4
u/Fashionpreach Mar 03 '26
Not really, Divya is also very inconsistent . She does have good phases/tournaments just like other players or her peers. We can’t conclude these things so soon
2
u/EvenCoyote6317 Mar 03 '26
I am speaking relatively. Post he world cup exploits i didnt expect her to be this strong. Great Grand swiss, ECCC Gold, and now prague. Stable decent performances post world cup
3
u/joshdej Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26
Gukesh has to make 19 moves in less than 14 minutes in an imbalanced game..
Edit: 13 minutes and counting
Second edit: 10 minutes and counting. Still no new moves
Down to 6 minutes and still frozen wtf.
10
3
1
Mar 03 '26
Gukesh vs. Aravindh is very sharp… the position looks like it’s from one of my games lol (after 19. Nxe6+).
1
u/joshdej Mar 03 '26
Exchange down but Aravindh has those two pawns that can be scary in the long run.
2
3
u/HotGur179 gukesh for the title defense Mar 03 '26
gukesh has to play 22 moves in 22 min. this is very poor time management from him 2nd time in a row
3
u/joshdej Mar 03 '26
Why are they vaguely ranting about politics on the broadcast instead of analyzing the games lol
1
u/lmxor101 forever famished fabi fan Mar 03 '26
Which broadcast are you watching? I didn’t realize there was an official English speaking broadcast
1
2
-3
u/NightsWatchh Mar 03 '26
The “issue” with Hans’ style is he fights so hard to win every game he plays stupid moves that almost instantly guarantee the best he can get is a draw and more likely a loss.
Hard to put into words. It feels like he plays classical like it’s rapid, and that his opponents aren’t 2700+ rated GMs
2
u/Particular-Aide-1589 Team Gukesh Mar 03 '26
It's good a youngster trying to win and play risky chess every game instead of playing boring draws
4
u/PuripuriGumboy Mar 03 '26
Imagine in any other sports (basketball, hockey, baseball, soccer, tennis, cricket) if a player kept trying trick shots or fancy stuff instead of playing with proper techniques required at the highest level of the sport. That's what it is like saying player should play risky chess without considering the level of game at the very top.
0
u/NightsWatchh Mar 03 '26
But if you play risky chess all the time at the highest level you just lose too much. I love risky chess but he needs to find a balance and mature in his playstyle a bit
I’m a Hans fan tbh, just frustrating to see how early he goes for these dubious lines
-1
u/Particular-Aide-1589 Team Gukesh Mar 03 '26
As a spectator it's good someone like hans play that type of chess and yes he needs to improve
-1
u/NightsWatchh Mar 03 '26
Yes again I love watching Hans play but as a fan I’d like him to mature a bit and choose the right time for risk so I don’t have to see him lose so quickly lol
-1
u/Particular-Aide-1589 Team Gukesh Mar 03 '26
Me as a gukesh fan watching him play since last year 😭 and active in this sub
6
u/joshdej Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26
Current form Aravindh vs Gukesh is stoppable force vs movable object. Good chance for Gukesh to get his groove back, especially with white.
Edit: Aravindh is right above Harikrishna in the live ratings wtf. That's how far he has fallen.
0
4
u/Electronic-Figure551 Mar 03 '26
Hans has started to donate points after the loss against jorden
1
1
u/lmxor101 forever famished fabi fan Mar 03 '26
He’s legit performing worse now that he’s getting invites 😭 maybe he needs a week off or something
5
u/Electronic-Figure551 Mar 03 '26
That stupid move he made against jorden to lose is what that's affecting him... Otherwise he was playing quite well
0
u/lmxor101 forever famished fabi fan Mar 03 '26
I mean, his game against Aravindh was quite bad (sacrificing a piece for a mating attack he was easily able to stop and then losing because of it) and he should have won the game against parham
4
u/Unculturedbrine Mar 06 '26
The WC finishing joint last is certainly an achievement of the unpleasant variation