Jaroslav Svoboda, the owner of Czech Inn Hotels and operator of the Hotel Don Giovanni, the venue of the Prague Chess Festival, is a passionate chess fan. In a short interview he reveals that he learnt to play chess rather late in life, talks about his friendship to Vlastimil Hort and explains why Bobby Fischer is not an ideal role model. | Photo: The Hotel Don Giovanni
Prague: Abdusattorov catches Maghsoodloo, Pragg blunders chessbase.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chessbase.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Parham Maghsoodloo became the first sole leader at the Masters section of the Prague Chess Festival after beating Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu with the white pieces. Maghsoodloo thus ended Pragg’s undefeated streak of 47 games. In the one other decisive game of the round, Dommaraju Gukesh got the better of Thai Dai Van Nguyen. Meanwhile, Ediz Gurel scored a win to join Anton Korobov in the lead of the Challengers section. | Photo: Petr Vrabec
The sixth edition of the Prague Chess Festival kicked off at the Don Giovanni Hotel in the Czech capital. In the Masters, Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Parham Maghsoodloo started with wins to become the tournament’s early co-leaders. Pragg’s victory, over Vincent Keymer, was remarkable, as the Indian star sacrificed a piece early on and managed to convert his attack into a full point while facing a tough defensive effort by his opponent. | Photo: Petr Vrabec
In about two weeks, on 26 February 2024, the fifth Prague International Chess Festival (PICF) will begin. This year the four best juniors in the world - Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Abdusattorov and Keymer - will be in Prague to complete the strong field of Vidit, Rapport, Maghsoodloo, Navara, Bartel and Nguyen. But as tournament director Petr Boleslav explains in an interview, this is just one reason to combine a visit to one of Europe's most beautiful cities with chess. | Picture: Festival logo 2024