B POSITIVE MOVES FOR INDIA

Even as Gukesh’s winning run ends, Praggnanandhaa raises to the occasion to keep India B in medal hunt

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

IF one 16-year-old doesn’t get you, another 16-year-old will get you. On a day when D Gukesh’s winning run came to an end at the hands of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, R Praggnanandhaa produced a thrilling end game to claim a match-saving point against Azerbaijan’s Vasif Durarbayli after a marathon five-hour encounter.

The pressure was on the Indian after Raunak Sadhwani had lost to give Azerbaijan the edge. Durarbayli only needed a draw to secure the match points. With the clock ticking down for both players — the duo played the last few moves as if this was a game of backyard Blitz — Praggnandhaa expertly maneuvered from a tricky position to keep the hosts in medal contention.

What swung the end game in his favour was moving the bishop to d3 in his 62nd move. On air, Judit Polgar, commenting on FIDE’s YouTube channel, rated it as ‘great’. The engine agreed with her assessment of it. A few minutes later, Durarbayli, playing with black, knew his goose was truly cooked.