Sochi, 21 Jul: Three Indian Grandmasters remain in contention for the honours in the men’s section of the FIDE chess World Cup with focus on teen prodigy R Praggnanandhaa in the fourth-round matches on Thursday.
The experienced P Harikrishna and fast-rising Vidit Santosh Gujrathi are also in the fray and will be aiming to keep their winning run going.
Play in the tournament resumes on Thursday after a day’s rest on Wednesday.
The Chennai-based Praggnanandhaa, playing in his maiden World Cup, faces highly-rated Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, ranked 16th in the world, in round four.
Vachier-Lagrave comes into the match on Thursday after a hard-fought win over Russian David Paravyan via the tie-break.
The 15-year old Praggnanandhaa’s good run has drawn the attention of chess pundits and the manner in which he kept his cool in round three after veteran Michal Karsenkow forced a tie-break won appreciation.
The Indian teenager, however, faces a tough task against the French player, who came into the tournament after winning the title in the Croatia Grand Chess Tour event recently. There is a wide gulf in the ELO rating (Vachier-Lagrave’s 2760 as against 2608 of Praggnanandhaa) apart from the experience factor. (PTI)