 "R Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram played out a risk-free draw in fifth round of Prague Masters Chess 2025. Image: Prague Chess Festival")
India’s chess Grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram continue to be in the joint lead after five rounds in the Prague Chess Festival Masters 2025. Praggnanandhaa and Chithambaram faced off against each other in the latest round, with the high-octane match ending in a draw.
China’s GM Wei Yi was the only player to secure a win in the fifth round of the Masters section as he defeated American grandmaster Sam Shankland, in 27 moves, while Vincent Keymer, who lost to both Praggnanandhaa and Chithambaram in previous rounds, was the only other GM to secure a significant advantage but could not force a win against Vietnam’s Lê Quang Liêm.
Praggnanandhaa vs Chithambaram ends in draw
The Praggnanandhaa vs Chithambaram match was a quiet affair as none of the table toppers went out of their way to take any unnecessary risk. Praggnanandhaa, playing with white pieces, opted for a Ruy Lopez opening, followed by Chithambaram going for Berlin defence. With both players maintaining a high accuracy, the match eventually ended in a draw after 59 moves.
“That’s the trick, you know. You pretend to be tactical like Aravindh, and then you make an easy draw in the Berlin,” Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri said while analysing the Praggnanandhaa vs Chithambaram match.
Praggnanandhaa will now take on Shankland in the sixth round, while Chithambaram will face Lê Quang Liêm.
Divya Deshmukh suffers another loss
In the Challengers section. India’s Divya Deshmukh (19) lost to 17-year-old Marc’Andria Maurizzi of France.
IM Deshmukh is currently ninth in the standing with just 1.5 points out of a possible five. Her next match is against the Czech Republic’s Vaclav Finek.
Prague Chess Festival Masters Standings
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aravindh Chithambaram | 3.5 |
| 2 | Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 3.5 |
| 3 | Vincent Keymer | 2.5 |
| 4 | Liem Le | 2.5 |
| 5 | Anish Giri | 2.5 |
| 6 | Wei Yi | 2.5 |
| 7 | Sam Shankland | 2 |
| 8 | David Navara | 2 |
| 9 | Thai Dai Van Nguyen | 2 |
| 10 | Ediz Gurel | 2 |
Prague Chess Festival Challengers Standings
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Nodirbek Yakubboev | 4 |
| 2 | GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre | 3.5 |
| 3 | GM Ivan Salgado Lopez | 3 |
| 4 | GM Marc’Andria Maurizzi | 3 |
| 5 | GM Ma Qun | 2.5 |
| 6 | IM Richard Stalmach | 2 |
| 7 | GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis | 2 |
| 8 | FM Jachym Nemec | 2 |
| 9 | IM Divya Deshmukh | 1.5 |
| 10 | IM Vaclav Finek | 1.5 |