Chessable Masters: Praggu on back foot, advantage Liren

Chennai, May 26

Chinese world No. 2 Ding Liren seized the advantage against India’s teenaged Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa in the final of the Chessable Masters online tournament, taking a 2.5-1.5 lead after the opening day of the match in the wee hours on Thursday.

The 16-year old, who lost the opening game of the all-Asian final, bounced back strongly to level the first match when he won the second game. Liren then showed why he is rated so highly by taking the lead and outwitting the youngster in the third game. The fourth game saw the two sign peace in 39 moves as Liren took a one-point advantage into Day 2 of the summit clash. The second day of the final will also feature four games and the tie-break if required. Praggnanandhaa, who had to appear for his Class XI examination after seeing off Anish Giri on Wednesday, has been making waves since the preliminary phase.