Charity Cup: Vidit holds fourth place; Praggnanandhaa, Hari struggle

Vidit Gujrathi won twice and drew twice to hold the fourth position in the USD 150,000 Charity Cup online rapid chess tournament.

FILE PHOTO: Vidit Gujrathi won twice and drew twice in four rounds.

Vidit Gujrathi (8 points) scored two important victories to hold the fourth position behind Eric Hansen (Canada), Le Quang Liem (Vietnam) (10 each) and Ding Liren (China, 9) in the USD 150,000 Charity Cup online rapid chess tournament on Saturday.

After four rounds in the 16-player round-robin format, R. Praggnanandhaa (5) and P. Harikrishna (2) were placed eighth and 15th.

In an event where three points are awarded for each victory, Vidit defeated second seed Richard Rapport (Hungary) and Lei Tingjie (China). He added a point each after drawing with David Navara (Czech Republic) and Praggnanandhaa.

While Vidit stayed in the hunt for a place among the top-eight to qualify for the knockout phase, Praggnanandhaa and Harikrishna left themselves with plenty to catch up.

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Praggnanandhaa started with a draw against Gawain Jones (England) but lost to eventual joint leader Le Quang Liem. He bounced right back by beating Women’s World champion Ju Wenjun before slowing down Vidit.

Harikrishna, the oldest among the three Indians, opened his account in the third round following a draw with Navara after Ding Liren and Magnus Carlsen proved stronger. He finished the day with a draw with Rapport.

Carlsen (7) slipped to the sixth spot after losing the fourth round to Ding Liren. Till then, Carlsen was among the front-runners after drawing with Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) and beating Harikrishna and Eric Hansen (Canada).

• Fourth round : Vidit Gujrathi (8/12) drew with R. Praggnanandhaa (5/12); P. Harikrishna (2/12) drew with R. Rapport (5/12).
• Third round : Lei Tingjie (Chn) lost to Vidit; Praggnanandhaa bt Ju Wenjun (Chn); David Navara (Cze) drew with Harikrishna;
• Second round : Vidit bt Rapport; Le Quang Li (Vie) bt Praggnanandhaa; Harikrishna lost to Magnus Carlsen (Nor);
• First round : Navara drew with Vidit; Ding Liren (Chn) bt Harikrishna; Praggnanandhaa drew with Gawain Jones (Eng).