Harikrishna set to defend his title at Prague International Chess Festival 2023 Masters

by Shahid Ahmed - 21/06/2023

The fifth edition of Prague International Chess Festival 2023 starts today. India no.4 and World no.32 Pentala Harikrishna will be defending his Masters title as he won it last year convincingly. Harikrishna is third-highest rated player in the field. He got number ten at the Drawing of Lots. He will face Czech Republic no.2, Thai Dai Van Nguyen in the first round. India's 66th GM Akash G will be the sole participant in the Challengers section. He will start his campaign against FM Vaclav Finek (CZE). Both Masters and Challengers will be a Round-Robin event. A total of 32 players are taking part in the Open section. Round 1 for Masters and Challengers start today at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anezka Kruzikova/Prague International Chess Festival

Akash G in the Challengers

China no.3 - Hao Wang, USA no.6 - Sam Shankland, India no.4 - Pentala Harikrishna, Romania no.3 - Bogdan-Daniel Deac, Germany no.1 - Vincent Keymer, Czech Republic no.1 - David Navara, USA no.10 - Ray Robson, Armenia no.2 - Haik Martirosyan, Israel no.1 - Boris Gelfand and Czech Republic no.2 Thai Dai Van Nguyen comprise the Masters section. The average rating of the Masters event is 2690. That should give an inkling about the strength of this event. GM Akash G is playing in the Challengers section which has the exact same format and schedule. The average rating of the Challengers section is 2543.

Pentala Harikrishna unveils his portrait | Photo: Anezka Kruzikova/Prague International Chess Festival

Pentala Harikrishna standing next to his portrait | Photo: Anezka Kruzikova/Prague International Chess Festival

The portraits of Nikita Vitiugov, Alireza Firouzja, Sam Shankland and Pentala Harikrishna | Photo: Anezka Kruzikova/Prague International Chess Festival

Masters participants

The Masters section participants are - Hao Wang (CHN, 2722), Sam Shankland (USA, 2711), Pentala Harikrishna (2704), Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU, 2693), Vincent Keymer (GER, 2690), David Navara (CZE, 2689), Ray Robson (USA, 2689), Haik Martirosyan (ARM, 2685), Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2688) and Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE, 2653).

Prague Chess Festival 2023 Masters participants | Photo: Prague International Chess Festival

Challengers participants

The Challengers section participants are - GM Gledura Benjamin (HUN, 2645), GM Erwin l'Ami (NED, 2645), GM Jergus Pechac (NED, 2611), GM Mateusz Bartel (POL, 2609), GM Alexander Motylev (ROU, 2597), GM Paulius Pultinevicius (LTU, 2530), GM Akash G (2483), IM Jan Vykouk (CZE, 2467), IM Richard Stalmach (CZE, 2436) and FM Vaclav Finek (CZE, 2409).

Prague Chess Festival 2023 Challengers participants | Photo: Anezka Kruzikova/Prague International Chess Festival

Pairings and Schedule

The Round-Robin tournaments will take place from 21st to 30th June 2023. Every day except the last round, games will start at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST). Monday 26th June is a rest day. The ninth round game on 30th June will start at 11 a.m. local time, 2:30 p.m. IST.

Inauguration Ceremony | Photo: Prague International Chess Festival

Inaugural moves were being made | Photo: Anezka Kruzikova/Prague International Chess Festival

Round 1 Masters pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	2653	GM	NGUYEN Thai Dai Van		GM	HARIKRISHNA Pentala	2704	10
2	2	2690	GM	KEYMER Vincent		GM	WANG Hao	2722	9
3	3	2689	GM	NAVARA David		GM	DEAC Bogdan-Daniel	2693	8
4	4	2711	GM	SHANKLAND Sam		GM	GELFAND Boris	2668	7
5	5	2685	GM	MARTIROSYAN Haik M.		GM	ROBSON Ray	2689	6

Details

Round 1 Challengers pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	2609	GM	BARTEL Mateusz		GM	GLEDURA Benjamin	2645	10
2	2	2436	IM	STALMACH Richard		GM	PULTINEVICIUS Paulius	2530	9
3	3	2409	FM	FINEK Vaclav		GM	AKASH G	2483	8
4	4	2611	GM	PECHAC Jergus		IM	VYKOUK Jan	2467	7
5	5	2597	GM	MOTYLEV Alexander		GM	L'AMI Erwin	2645	6

Details

Time Control

The time control is 90'/40 moves + 30'/end & 30"/move.

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations: Masters, Challengers and Open

Prague Chess Festival: fb. twitter, instagram and youtube

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