Charity Cup R9-12: Vidit beats Duda

by Shahid Ahmed - 22/03/2022

Vidit Gujrathi remained undefeated on the third day, just like how he started his campaign at Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Charity Cup. He won against Ju Wenjun and Jan-Krzysztof Duda in a pretty similar fashion, drew with Hans Niemann and fellow countryman, Pentala Harikrishna. Vidit is now at eighth position with 18.0/36. He is closely followed by Praggnanandhaa 17.0/36. Harikrishna drew seven games in-a-row. Liem maintains his sole lead 27.0/36, followed by the world champion Magnus Carlsen 24.0/36, Jorden van Foreest 21.0/36 and Ding Liren 20.0/36. Round 13 starts tonight at 10:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

A fantastic day for Jorden

Jorden van Foreest had a great day as he beat Ding Liren, David Navara and Richard Rapport. His sole draw was against the world champion who was in grave danger. Liem maintained his sole lead. He has advanced to the Knockout stage already. Magnus has also advanced to the next stage unless a mathematical probability denies him a spot in the Quarterfinals.

Vidit scored a very nice win against Duda | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

Round 9: Praggnanandhaa - Carlsen: 0-1

Praggnanandhaa put up a good fight against Carlsen. He faltered in the final seconds of the game.

Position after 33.Kg1

33...Rxc2 34.Rxc2 Qa1+ 35.Kg2 Qd1 36.Be4 Rd2+ 37.Rxd2 cxd2 is winning for Black. The world champion opted for 33...Qa5. White had one last chance to stay in the game 34.Bxf7 Rxc2 35.Rxc2 Qa1+ 36.Kh2 Qe1 37.Bxg6+ Kh8 38.Re2 and so on. However, Pragg played 34.e4 Qb6+ 35.Kg2 Qe3 36.Qf1 Bh6 37.Kh1 Bxf4 and it was all over for White. It is certainly not easy to defend such a complex position with so little time and that also against the mighty world no.1.

Final moments of Praggnanandhaa vs Magnus Carlsen | Video: ChessBase India

Ju - Vidit: 0-1

Vidit Gujrathi made the most out of his opportunity against the women's world champion, Ju Wenjun.

Position after 20...Nd3

Vidit beautifully maneuvered his knight to increase his advantage. 21.Rf1 Nb2 22.Qc2 Nxa4 23.Rfc1 b5 24.Nd1 Nb6 25.Nb2 Ra3 26.Nxc4 Nxc4 and Black went on to win the game.

Round 10: Navara - Praggnanandhaa: 0.5-0.5

Praggnanandhaa saved a completely lost queen and bishop endgame against David Navara.

Position after 38...Kh7

Queen endings are quite difficult to defend and being behind by two pawns certainly does not help the case. Praggnanandhaa somehow managed to endure all the difficulties and salvage a draw.

Round 11: Vidit - Duda: 1-0

Vidit once again used his knight beautifully to gain positional advantage against Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

Position after 24.Nd6

It was almost an echo to Vidit's win against Ju in Round 9. Once again he put his knight on d6 which caused a lot of trouble in opponent's camp and he went on to win the game.

Vidit beats his arch nemesis Jan Krzysztof Duda | Video: ChessBase India

Round 12: Tingjie - Praggnanandhaa: 0-1

Praggnanandhaa ended the day with a win over Lei Tingjie.

Position after 43.Na1

43.Na1 made things only more difficult for White. 43...Bd6 44.g4 a3 45.Rb5 Ra6 and the c6-pawn fell. Black gobbled up a couple of more pawns on the kingside before White resigned.