R Praggnanandhaa on the verge of winning XTX London Chess Classic Open 2025
GM R Praggnanandhaa defeated GM David Gavrilescu (ROU) to emerge sole leader at XTX Markets London Chess Classic Open 2025. Praggnanandhaa made the most out of his opportunity when his opponent made an incorrect rook movement while already lacking enough space. Praggnanandhaa broke out of the six leaders' pack to move to 6.5/8. A win in the last round will make him a clear champion whereas a draw might allow the pursuers to catch up. GM Pranav Anand drew against the newly crowned Commonwealth Open 2025 Gold medalist, GM Daniel Howard Fernandez (ENG). GM Iniyan Pa bounced back with a win over IM Marcus R Harvey (ENG). GM Velimir Ivic (SRB), Pranav, defending cochampion - GM Ilya Smirin (ISR), GM Matthieu Cornette (FRA), Daniel and GM Ameet K Ghasi (ENG) are on Praggnanandhaa's heels at 6/8 each. Round 9 starts today at 4 p.m. local time, 9:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Tao Bhokanandh / London Chess Classic
Six players including Pranav Anand at 6/8
Praggnanandhaa - Gavrilescu: 1-0
The first-ever Classical rated game between GM R Praggnanandhaa (2768) and GM David Gavrilescu (ROU, 2542) went in favor of Praggnanandhaa.
23...Bd7 24.Rf1 Qe7 25.Bxc4 dxc4 would have been fine for Black. Instead, 23...Ra7 24.Rf1 Rf7 25.Rxf7 Qxf7 26.Qh4 g6 27.Bxc4 dxc4 28.Qd8+ Kg7 29.Kb2 and White went on to convert his advantage to win the game. Thus, Praggnanandhaa emerged sole leader.
GM Pranav Anand (2581) drew against the newly crowned Commonwealth Open 2025 Gold medalist, GM Daniel Howard Fernandez (ENG, 2501).
GM Iniyan Pa (2601) bounced back with a victory over IM Marcus R Harvey (ENG, 2438).
Replay all Round 8 Open games
Round 8 results
| Bo. | White | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Rtg | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2768 | 5½ | 1 - 0 | 5½ | GM | Gavrilescu, David | 2542 | PGN | ||
| 2 | GM | Ghasi, Ameet K | 2500 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | GM | Ivic, Velimir | 2618 | PGN | ||
| 3 | GM | Pranav, Anand | 2581 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | GM | Fernandez, Daniel H | 2501 | PGN | ||
| 4 | GM | Cornette, Matthieu | 2517 | 5 | 1 - 0 | 5 | GM | Kraemer, Martin | 2571 | PGN | ||
| 5 | GM | Smirin, Ilya | 2554 | 5 | 1 - 0 | 5 | IM | Rozen, Eytan | 2515 | PGN | ||
| 6 | GM | Maze, Sebastien | 2534 | 5 | ½ - ½ | 5 | GM | Fodor, Tamas Jr | 2508 | PGN | ||
| 7 | FM | Willems, Niels | 2368 | 4 | 0 - 1 | 4 | FM | Kazarian, Anna-Maja *) | 2224 | PGN | ||
| 8 | GM | Yuffa, Daniil | 2618 | 4½ | 1 - 0 | 4½ | IM | Roberson, Peter T | 2447 | PGN | ||
| 9 | IM | Harvey, Marcus R | 2438 | 4½ | 0 - 1 | 4½ | GM | Iniyan, P | 2601 | PGN | ||
| 10 | GM | Jumabayev, Rinat | 2560 | 4½ | 1 - 0 | 4½ | FM | Tulchynskyi, Feliks | 2409 | PGN |
Standings after Round 8
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2768 | None | 6,5 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Ivic, Velimir | 2618 | None | 6 | |
| 3 | 5 | GM | Pranav, Anand | 2581 | None | 6 | |
| 4 | 8 | GM | Smirin, Ilya | 2554 | None | 6 | |
| 5 | 13 | GM | Cornette, Matthieu | 2517 | 4NCL Celtic Tigers | 6 | |
| 6 | 18 | GM | Fernandez, Daniel H | 2501 | 4NCL Wood Green | 6 | |
| 7 | 19 | GM | Ghasi, Ameet K | 2500 | Richmond And Twickenham | 6 | |
| 8 | 3 | GM | Yuffa, Daniil | 2618 | None | 5,5 | |
| 9 | 4 | GM | Iniyan, P | 2601 | None | 5,5 | |
| 10 | 7 | GM | Jumabayev, Rinat | 2560 | None | 5,5 |
Round 9 pairings
| Bo. | White | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Rtg | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Smirin, Ilya | 2554 | 6 | 6½ | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2768 | |||
| 2 | GM | Ivic, Velimir | 2618 | 6 | 6 | GM | Cornette, Matthieu | 2517 | |||
| 3 | GM | Fernandez, Daniel H | 2501 | 6 | 6 | GM | Ghasi, Ameet K | 2500 | |||
| 4 | GM | Iniyan, P | 2601 | 5½ | 6 | GM | Pranav, Anand | 2581 | |||
| 5 | IM | Chasin, Nico | 2512 | 5½ | 5½ | GM | Yuffa, Daniil | 2618 | |||
| 6 | GM | Fodor, Tamas Jr | 2508 | 5½ | 5½ | GM | Jumabayev, Rinat | 2560 | |||
| 7 | FM | Kazarian, Anna-Maja *) | 2224 | 5 | 5 | GM | Greenfeld, Alon | 2465 | |||
| 8 | GM | Sanal, Vahap | 2546 | 5½ | 5½ | GM | Mikhalevski, Victor | 2504 | |||
| 9 | GM | Gavrilescu, David | 2542 | 5½ | 5½ | IM | Kanyamarala, Tarun | 2376 | |||
| 10 | GM | Wadsworth, Matthew J | 2487 | 5½ | 5½ | GM | Maze, Sebastien | 2534 |
