2nd UzChess Cup R4: Praggnanandhaa beats Sindarov to join the lead with Abdusattorov
R Praggnanandhaa scored a fine victory over Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) to join the lead at 2nd UzChess Cup Masters 2025. After initially missing chance, Praggnanandhaa managed to seize his advantage correctly to beat the 44th Olympiad Gold medalist. In a battle of World Rapid champions, Arjun Erigaisi had a hard-fought draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB). Thus, both Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov are now at 3/4 each. Aravindh Chithambaram had a well contested battle against the reigning World Blitz Cochampion, Ian Nepomniachtchi. Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI) avenged his last year's loss against the defending champion, Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB). Both Arjun and Parham are at 2.5/4 each. Round 5 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Parham avenges his last year's loss
In the Challengers section, GM Nikolas Theodorou (GRE) and GM Andrew Hong (USA) maintain their lead 3.5/4 by winning their respective games. GM Ortik Nigmatov (UZB) is still in sole lead in the Futures event as he defeated GM Robert Ruck (HUN).
Praggnanandhaa - Sindarov: 1-0
R Praggnanandhaa (2767) and Javokhir Sindarov (UZB, 2710) have been battling against each other for nearly twelve years. Praggnanandhaa has a 5-3 score against Sindarov with three wins and one loss in his favor. Their ninth Classical game witnessed Semi-Slav opening. Sindarov went for an incorrect break early in the game 12...c5?
Praggnanandhaa grabbed the pawn 13.Nxc5 Nxc5 14.dxc5 Rc8 15.Be3? White erred 15.c6 was better 15...Nxe4? 16.Nxe4 Bxe4 17.Qg4 and White has regained the upper hand, only this time it was more substantial. 17...Bb7 and here computer recommends 18.Rd1 Qa5 19.Qxg7 to be better for White. However, the game was played between two humans, so White took the b4-pawn. 18.Qxb4 is much safer than what the tireless machine recommends.
Praggnanandhaa mentioned in the post-game interview that he found a very nice idea where he tucked his queen at c1. It reinforced his rooks and created the opportunity to push the pawns on the queenside and generate connected passed pawns which played a crucial role in him winning the game. In the end, he allowed Black to generate a little bit of counterplay but it was nothing that could have had a major impact. With this win, Praggnanandhaa is back at World no.5 in live ratings again. However, he mentioned in the interview that this small difference in numbers does not matter because he knows everyone is strong.
Rapport - Vokhidov: 0.5-0.5
This is the first time Richard Rapport (HUN, 2714) faced Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB, 2644) in a Classical rated game. It was a lukewarm draw.
Arjun - Abdusattorov: 0.5-0.5
Arjun Erigaisi (2782) played a lot of games against Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2767), in total. However, only seven of them were Classical. The score is 3-4 in favor of the former World Rapid champion. With Arjun becoming the World Rapid Team champion recently, this battle was definitely a highly anticipated one. Both players made an attempt to gain the upper hand. Abdusattorov's passed pawn reached till c2. However, it was not menacing. Arjun managed to draw the game without any difficulty.
Aravindh - Nepomniachtchi: 0.5-0.5
Aravindh Chithambaram (2749) played a couple of Rapid and Blitz rated games against Ian Nepomniachtchi (2757). However, this was their first Classical rated game against each other.
24.Bc5 was a nice tactic spotted by Aravindh. Black had to take the bishop as there is no way to defending the d6-pawn 24...dxc5 25.d6 e4 26.dxe7 Be8 27.Qd8 Rbb8 28.Qd6 cxb4 29.Qe5 Qc7 30.Qxe4 b3 Black is creating his own passed pawn now. 31.Ra3 b2 32.Rb1 Rb6 the game soon liquidated into a queen endgame where draw became the obvious result.
Yakubboev - Maghsoodloo: 0-1
Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB, 2659) defeated Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI, 2691) twice, including last year at the very same event and the remaining three ended in draws. Parham remembered his last year's loss. He wanted revenge and he knew that his opponent is not going to make things easy.
White launched an ambitious attack 26.g5 fxg5 27.hxg5 Bxe3+ 28.Nxe3 Rgf8 29.gxh6 White needed to play Nf5 here. 29...g6 30.Ra3 Qe6 31.Rad3 Qh3 in two moves Black just transferred his queen from one side of the board to the other. 32.Nf1 Rf4 33.Ke1?? was the final mistake by White. 33.Kg1 keeps the game going. 33...Rdf8-+ the king hunt began and Black won the game when checkmate was inevitable.
For more Round 4 photos, please click here. Interview with R Praggnanandhaa and Parham Maghsoodloo will be published soon.
Replay live stream
Replay Challengers Round 4 games
Replay Futures Round 4 games
Time Control
90 minutes for the first 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds increment starting from move one in Masters. For Challengers, Futures and Open, the time control is 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Prizes
The total prize fund is US$ 121500. Masters has $80000, Challengers $25000, Futures $11500 and Open $5000.
Masters Round 4 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2767 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 1 - 0 | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | 2710 | 7 | |||
| 2 | 8 | 2714 | GM | Rapport, Richard | ½ - ½ | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | 2644 | 6 | |||
| 3 | 9 | 2782 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | ½ - ½ | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2767 | 5 | |||
| 4 | 1 | 2749 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | ½ - ½ | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 2757 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 2 | 2659 | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 0 - 1 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | 2691 | 3 |
Standings after Round 4
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | w-we | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | UZB | 2767 | 3 | 0 | 4,75 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0,70 | 10 | 7 | |
| 2 | 10 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2767 | 3 | 0 | 4,50 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0,57 | 10 | 5,7 | |
| 3 | 9 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2782 | 2,5 | 0,5 | 5,00 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0,16 | 10 | 1,6 | |
| 4 | 3 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | IRI | 2691 | 2,5 | 0,5 | 4,25 | 1 | 1 | 0,5 | 0,69 | 10 | 6,9 | |
| 5 | 7 | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | UZB | 2710 | 2 | 0 | 3,50 | 1 | 1 | 0,5 | 0,14 | 10 | 1,4 | |
| 6 | 1 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2749 | 1,5 | 0 | 3,50 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -0,66 | 10 | -6,6 | |
| 7 | 2 | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | UZB | 2659 | 1,5 | 0 | 3,00 | 1 | 1 | 0,5 | -0,02 | 10 | -0,2 | |
| 8 | 4 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FID | 2757 | 1,5 | 0 | 2,75 | 0 | 0 | 0,5 | -0,61 | 10 | -6,1 | |
| 9 | 8 | GM | Rapport, Richard | HUN | 2714 | 1,5 | 0 | 2,50 | 0 | 0 | 0,5 | -0,50 | 10 | -5 | |
| 10 | 6 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | UZB | 2644 | 1 | 0 | 1,75 | 0 | 0 | 0,5 | -0,47 | 10 | -4,7 |
Round 5 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2691 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2767 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 4 | 2757 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 2659 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | 5 | 2767 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | 2749 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | 6 | 2644 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 2782 | 9 | ||||
| 5 | 7 | 2710 | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | GM | Rapport, Richard | 2714 | 8 |
Challengers Round 4 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2589 | GM | Hong, Andrew | 1 - 0 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | 2594 | 7 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 8 | 2634 | GM | Ivanchuk, Vasyl | 0 - 1 | GM | Vakhidov, Jakhongir | 2539 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 9 | 2630 | GM | Ma, Qun | ½ - ½ | IM | Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim | 2370 | 5 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 1 | 2613 | GM | Theodorou, Nikolas | 1 - 0 | GM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | 2536 | 4 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 2 | 2490 | IM | Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid | ½ - ½ | GM | Sivuk, Vitaly | 2522 | 3 | PGN |
Futures Round 4 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2450 | IM | Saydaliev, Saidakbar | 1 - 0 | GM | Pichot, Alan | 2588 | 7 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 8 | 2489 | GM | Chatalbashev, Boris | 1 - 0 | GM | Abdisalimov, Abdimalik | 2490 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 9 | 2474 | GM | Nigmatov, Ortik | 1 - 0 | GM | Ruck, Robert | 2515 | 5 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 1 | 2520 | GM | Alekseev, Evgeny | ½ - ½ | GM | Atabayev, Saparmyrat | 2517 | 4 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 2 | 2470 | IM | Begmuratov, Khumoyun | ½ - ½ | GM | Sychev, Klementy | 2513 | 3 | PGN |
Schedule
Every day from 19th to 26th June 2025, the round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Only the last round will start at 11 a.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. IST.
Links
Uzbekistan Chess Federation: Telegram, fb page and youtube
