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GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu got off to a flying start, winning his first five games, and ultimately ended with 6.5 points from nine games to be the sole leader at the end of the first day of the 2023 Tata Steel Chess India Open Blitz. Following the leader with six points each are GMs Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and Alexander Grischuk, with the latter the only undefeated player of the day.
In spite of the strength of the players, Friday saw typical high-voltage blitz drama with many entertaining games of edge-of-the-seat action, time scrambles, and even an illegal move.
The top two finishers in the rapid section, GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Teimour Radjabov had a rough day at the office, both starting their tournament with losses in the first three rounds. They finished the day with four points and two points respectively.
The Open Bltiz tournament concludes on September 9 at 4:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 CEST / 14:00 IST.
The Ideal Style For Blitz
After the last round was over, I had an interesting conversation with Praggnanandhaa. What does he think is the ideal style to play good blitz?
“This morning, I was spending time to study the games of players who play blitz well. For example, Arjun played very well in [Tata Steel Chess India] last year. He won it convincingly. I was trying to look at his games. Also trying to look at my games [from last year]. To see how not to play! I felt that I was trying to play interesting… but hanging pieces here and there. One of the aims [today] was to keep it simple. Not to do anything drastic.”
Did Praggnanandhaa really keep it simple today? His first-round game against Radjabov went:
His second game win against Vachier-Lagrave also followed a similar path.
So is this his natural style?
“Honestly, I don’t know! Nowadays, you have to be universal—good at everything. Everyone is good at everything! That’s what I am trying to do. Earlier I felt that I was not playing many attacking games. I [feel] I am doing it for the past two months, a lot more. Not consciously, but I am taking the chances [to attack] if I get any. I try to be generally objective in the position. I try to play my best moves, and sometimes consciously to play [sharp]. Sometimes consciously.”
Nowadays, you have to be universal—good at everything.
—Praggnanandhaa
This being objective and attacking the opponent when needed, was reflected in his game against GM Vincent Keymer.
Not a flawless game, but typical of blitz. Praggnanandhaa played for the initiative and ultimately succeeded, as it is difficult to defend correctly in a blitz game.
“Except for the game against Vidit, I think I played well—I outplayed many of my opponents,” Praggnanandhaa claimed. In Vidit he met his match in the seventh round, soundly outplayed in a well-controlled positional game for a blitz encounter.
It was indeed a game of simple concepts, but it was Vidit who strategically executed them better.
When it came to playing the position and taking chances when tactical opportunities presented themselves, Vidit too followed the same principle outlined by Praggnanandhaa. His game against Keymer was a tactical marvel, a joy for spectators. It is our Game Of The Day, annotated by GM Rafael Leitao.
Another player to impress on the day was Grischuk, whose sense of tactics and blitz prowess are well known—he is a three-time world blitz champion, in 2006, 2012, and 2015. His quick spotting of tactics won him an easy-looking game against Keymer.
Looking at his play, Grischuk seemed to be playing steadily, preferring strategic games. Is this what he prefers? Grischuk disagreed.
“Actually I think it is the opposite—I play more aggressively in blitz.” He professed his game against Vachier-Lagrave to be his best game. This was the game where Grischuk played actively, underlining that “playing the position” indeed takes preference when tactics present themselves.
Blitz events have their own drama and thrills, especially in the dying seconds, which makes them glorious spectator delights.
Praggnanandhaa’s win against his friend Arjun proved to be important, as he managed to capture the lead again. The end of the game shows both the players in intense concentration, and the pure joy of blitz chess.
After 2 losses, Praggnanandhaa hits back to win the last game of the day and he’ll now go into the final day of the #TataSteelChessIndia Blitz as the sole leader! https://t.co/2NVkk3Xe4s #c24live pic.twitter.com/3VpfR8ycN4
— chess24.com (@chess24com) September 8, 2023
White has compensation for the pawn, but Black has to be careful. He blundered with 42…Ra4? after which he lost a piece: 43.e5 Nxe5 44.Nxe5 1-0.
GM Dommaraju Gukesh’s ambition cost him dearly in his game against GM Arjun Erigaisi.
In a near-equal position, Radjabov had a blind spot in his game against Gukesh.
In a near equal position, Radjabov continued 28.Qg3?? only to resign the game after 28…Rxa7.
In this position, Grischuk nonchalantly played 81.Bf5!?, underlining the absurdity of playing on. Vidit captured it on the 96th move, and both players played on for a total of 173 moves, until a draw was agreed.
It was partly quizzical and partly comical to see Vidit try to checkmate with two knights, but we know it is worthwhile for the global audience he attracted for his effort.
My man @viditchess once tried checkmating a king with a king in Kolkata, this is nothing. https://t.co/mTZA8cyu2e
— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) September 8, 2023
In the seventh round, in his hurry to evacuate his king quickly, Praggnanandhaa committed a not-so-uncommon occurrence in quicker time controls: an illegal move.
Praggnanandhaa played 48.Kf1?? here, only for it to be pointed out that it was an illegal move. A visibly embarrassed Praggnanandhaa sat smiling as the customary two minutes were added to Vidit’s clock. Praggnanandhaa’s position was lost, and he resigned two moves later anyway.
All Games: Open Blitz Day 1
Open Blitz Standings After Round 9
The Tata Steel Chess India Open Blitz ends on Saturday, with rounds 10 to 18.
Open Blitz Pairings Round 10
The 2023 Tata Steel Chess India Men’s and Women’s Rapid and Blitz are two of India’s most prestigious rapid chess events. The Women’s event takes place before the Men’s. Players compete in a 10-player round-robin in three days of rapid games with a 25+10 time control, followed by two days of blitz games played at a 3+2 time control.
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