The big rating favourites in the open section of the Chennai Olympiad were held to a draw in Monday’s fourth round: Uzbekistan drew the United States thanks to a remarkable victory by Nodirbek Abdusattorov over Fabiano Caruana on top board. Meanwhile, five teams scored a fourth consecutive victory and are now sharing the lead the most surprising member of this group is Israel, which beat the Netherlands on Monday. In the women’s section, eight teams are sharing the lead on 8 out 8 match points. | Photo: Stev Bonhage
Pentala Harikrishna beat Saleh Salem in the penultimate round of the Masters tournament in Prague, thus climbing to the shared lead going into the final day of action. Similarly, in the Challengers, Hans Niemann collected a second win in a row to catch Vincent Keymer and Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the lead. Friday’s final round kicks off four hours earlier than usual, at 11.00 CEST. | Photo: Petr Vrabec
Le Quang Liem and Pentala Harikrishna are sharing the lead with 3 points after 4 rounds at the Masters section of the Prague Chess Festival. The two co-leaders have three players standing a half point back going into the event’s one rest day. Meanwhile, Vincent Keymer is the sole leader in the Challengers section, also with 3 out of 4. | Photo: Petr Vrabec
The European Qualifier to the World Cup was played as a hybrid tournament last week, with participants playing from approved venues monitored by foreign arbiters. A total of 36 players obtained spots in the World Cup, scheduled to take place from July 10 to August 6 in Sochi. Highlights from the massive event include a 14-year-old girl knocking out an experienced grandmaster, and a young Slovak player offering a draw after Boris Gelfand hung his queen due to a mouse slip. | Pictured: GM Jergus Pechac