Prague Masters: Praggnanandhaa hot favourite to win title

NEW DELHI: Fresh off his nail-biting victory at the Tata Steel Masters, Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa will start as the hot favourite to win the Prague Masters, which gets underway here on Wednesday.

It was a gruelling first-place finish at the Tata Steel Masters, where Praggnanandhaa overcame world champion D. Gukesh in a nerve-wracking tiebreak battle and the Indian will now look to carry that momentum forward in this tournament.

Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram makes his debut in elite chess, thanks to his consistent rise in both performance and rating throughout last year.

Having elevated himself to 2730 points in live ratings, Aravindh is knocking on the door of the top 20 in the world rankings and is currently ranked fifth in the country, behind Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa, and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand.

The field, as usual, is an interesting mix. Chinese Grandmaster Wei Yi starts as the top seed, with Praggnanandhaa in second place based on ratings released on February 1. Le Quang Liem of Vietnam is seeded third, ahead of Vincent Keymer of Germany, while Aravindh is seeded fourth in the 10-player, 9-round all-play-all event. Agencies

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