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2025 chess season tracker


Gollum

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2 hours ago, Gollum said:

Emil Sutovsky (FIDE CEO) dropping truth bombs about Carlsen's gang of clowns. More power to Emil. 

 

 

 

 

I wish the Indian chess media would write and report severe criticisms of Carlsen and his antics of thinking that he is bigger than the game. 

 

Cannot expect a stale fruitcake youtuber like Sagar Shah to ask these questions.  But the mainstream Indian media - sport anchors and player community certainly can.

 

Everyone becomes a shameless fanboy / fangirl , instead of collaring MC.  

 

Tania Sachdev who is not part of chessbase India but is more active in the media than as a player too belongs to this league.  She is a nice genuine person but like everybody else too spineless.

 

The only Indian player who I have seen and read take MC to task is Srinath Narayan, who was coach/mentor of the team that won the Olympiad gold.

 

 

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Pragu is so much fun to watch. He doesn't care, he is in it to win it and he has the balls to risk losses for wins. A rare trait in the beancounting world of chess math, where players go ' u sneezed ? Draw ??'as the go to strategy.

 

And predictably enough, pragu  is the highest performing player in Tata steel while having a loss to his name. 

 

It's like watching a chess version of sehwag go around the business. He is here to whack u, if he misses u hit but he won't miss very often...

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1 hour ago, Muloghonto said:

Pragu is so much fun to watch. He doesn't care, he is in it to win it and he has the balls to risk losses for wins. A rare trait in the beancounting world of chess math, where players go ' u sneezed ? Draw ??'as the go to strategy.

 

And predictably enough, pragu  is the highest performing player in Tata steel while having a loss to his name. 

 

It's like watching a chess version of sehwag go around the business. He is here to whack u, if he misses u hit but he won't miss very often...

 

 

No, Gukesh's tournament performance is the highest rated so far at the end of 11 rounds - he is at 2893.  
Pragg is No.2 at 2862.

 

I wish he Pragg won some prestigious tournaments.  Titles matter. Playing exciting games is great but no point if you don't win anything.

 

He has immense natural talent, just needs to be more clutch like Gukesh.

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On 1/30/2025 at 11:56 AM, randomGuy said:

@rangeelaraja I still don't like this Uzbek player but theek hi hai, forced to apologise atleast....Pragg, vaishali, Sagar (quite late) playing their parts well.

 

Vaishali and Pragg are both amazingly well raised. They make us very proud.

 

I have no respect for Sagar Shah as I don't appreciate his sucking up attitude to current and former chess players. His coverage is one sided and he never asks tough questions.

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34 minutes ago, rangeelaraja said:

 

 

No, Gukesh's tournament performance is the highest rated so far at the end of 11 rounds - he is at 2893.  
Pragg is No.2 at 2862.

 

I wish he Pragg won some prestigious tournaments.  Titles matter. Playing exciting games is great but no point if you don't win anything.

 

He has immense natural talent, just needs to be more clutch like Gukesh.

You misunderstood me. Gukesh is undefeated so far this tourney.  After round 11, pragu was the highest performing guy in this tourney who still has a loss to their name.

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Nodirbek Abdusattarov seems be the toughest competition to both Gukesh and Pragg.

 

He got Gukesh in alot of trouble ( and pragg too ) before they were both able to secure draws.

 

I don't know if he can qualify for the candidates - but if he does - he is capable of winnings the candidates. 

 

Gukesh vs Nodirbek if it ever happens will be a really good and tough match. ( I would never like to see Gukesh and Pragg face off ...whoever loses, it will be heartbreaking)

 

 

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4 hours ago, rangeelaraja said:

Nodirbek Abdusattarov seems be the toughest competition to both Gukesh and Pragg.

 

He got Gukesh in alot of trouble ( and pragg too ) before they were both able to secure draws.

 

I don't know if he can qualify for the candidates - but if he does - he is capable of winnings the candidates. 

 

Gukesh vs Nodirbek if it ever happens will be a really good and tough match. ( I would never like to see Gukesh and Pragg face off ...whoever loses, it will be heartbreaking)

 

 

 

Personally, i am all for Indian vs Indian for World championship coz then its just true chess only for me.
Btw, i just watched Pragu vs Caruana. Dare i say that Pragu gives me serious Tal vibes ( btw, Tal is my all-time favourite Chess player. Man is just so so cool, given how the man is just straight up genius of chess who is  legend in the sacrifice to win department, which is just nuts at this level).
Defeating Fabi while Fabi is playing white ? When did Magnus or Hikaru beat Fabi straight up as black in classical again ? like years ago i bet.

I think at this point, while Gukesh may be the better overall player in theory of chess + meticulous execution, Pragu certainly is proving to be the greater risk taker and having an innate 'nose' for wins. Its a rare gift to have.


PS: My favourite Tal fact is the man showed up to a tourney in the late 80s as a reporter, in his late 50s or early 60s and having very poor health, got pressured to play due to a player dropping out and managed to finish 5th or 6th in a field of 12 or so, boasting names like Kasparov, Karpov, Korichnoi etc. Which is like crazy - like wot de foc. But even cooler, is the fact that a chess fan showed up to THIS tourney with a chess puzzle that even most chess computers cant solve TODAY ( you'd have to run Stockfish at like 3rd level or so to crack it). There's a beatiful video from agatmador on it. Well nobody could solve this puzzle, not kasparov, not Karpov, but Tal did. after going for a walk. and the solution IS so "signature Tal" that its just nuts. Highly recommend someone watch the puzzle video and try to solve it or just enjoy the solution if they enjoy chess.

 

Edited by Muloghonto
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54 minutes ago, Muloghonto said:

 

Personally, i am all for Indian vs Indian for World championship coz then its just true chess only for me.
Btw, i just watched Pragu vs Caruana. Dare i say that Pragu gives me serious Tal vibes ( btw, Tal is my all-time favourite Chess player. Man is just so so cool, given how the man is just straight up genius of chess who is  legend in the sacrifice to win department, which is just nuts at this level).
Defeating Fabi while Fabi is playing white ? When did Magnus or Hikaru beat Fabi straight up as black in classical again ? like years ago i bet.

I think at this point, while Gukesh may be the better overall player in theory of chess + meticulous execution, Pragu certainly is proving to be the greater risk taker and having an innate 'nose' for wins. Its a rare gift to have.


PS: My favourite Tal fact is the man showed up to a tourney in the late 80s as a reporter, in his late 50s or early 60s and having very poor health, got pressured to play due to a player dropping out and managed to finish 5th or 6th in a field of 12 or so, boasting names like Kasparov, Karpov, Korichnoi etc. Which is like crazy - like wot de foc. But even cooler, is the fact that a chess fan showed up to THIS tourney with a chess puzzle that even most chess computers cant solve TODAY ( you'd have to run Stockfish at like 3rd level or so to crack it). There's a beatiful video from agatmador on it. Well nobody could solve this puzzle, not kasparov, not Karpov, but Tal did. after going for a walk. and the solution IS so "signature Tal" that its just nuts. Highly recommend someone watch the puzzle video and try to solve it or just enjoy the solution if they enjoy chess.

 

 

 

Not just us regular people - every Chess legend has Tal has their most entertaining / dynamic player that has played so many memorable games.

 

Then there are boring, dry positional players like Karpov and Carlsen, who incrementally better their position squeeze wins out of drawish games.

 

Then there is a Kasparov - who had an army help him prepare and had the best deep preparation.

 

Karpov, Carlsen, Kasparov - won huge number of world championships and biggest events.

 

Tal was inconsistent but genius.

 

Personally I prefer ruthless consistency - Gukesh is really really clutch. Too many episodes. His  unbelievable win against China's Wei Yi  in the Olympiad the guaranteed gold for India , his nerves in the final moments of the last World championship game against Ding Liren....

 

The kid is unreal. 

 

All i wish for is for Pragg to be more clutch.  He is as talented as Gukesh.  Infact Gukesh's dad mentioned that Pragg was Gukesh's inspiration when they were both under 10.

 

Also training and preparation matters a lot - Gukesh has Gajweski exclusively - who was Anand's trainer.

 

Pragg's coach RB Ramesh runs an academy and his priorities are split.   I wish Pragg got a full time exclusive trainer.  His results would improve signficantly in terms of big tournament performances / victories. 

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44 minutes ago, rangeelaraja said:

 

 

Not just us regular people - every Chess legend has Tal has their most entertaining / dynamic player that has played so many memorable games.

 

Then there are boring, dry positional players like Karpov and Carlsen, who incrementally better their position squeeze wins out of drawish games.

 

Then there is a Kasparov - who had an army help him prepare and had the best deep preparation.

 

Karpov, Carlsen, Kasparov - won huge number of world championships and biggest events.

 

Tal was inconsistent but genius.

 

Personally I prefer ruthless consistency - Gukesh is really really clutch. Too many episodes. His  unbelievable win against China's Wei Yi  in the Olympiad the guaranteed gold for India , his nerves in the final moments of the last World championship game against Ding Liren....

 

The kid is unreal. 

 

All i wish for is for Pragg to be more clutch.  He is as talented as Gukesh.  Infact Gukesh's dad mentioned that Pragg was Gukesh's inspiration when they were both under 10.

 

Also training and preparation matters a lot - Gukesh has Gajweski exclusively - who was Anand's trainer.

 

Pragg's coach RB Ramesh runs an academy and his priorities are split.   I wish Pragg got a full time exclusive trainer.  His results would improve signficantly in terms of big tournament performances / victories. 

 

You sell Kasparov short - if Carlsen is the king of the endgame, which he himself thinks is overblown, one thing is certain- Kasparov was and to this day remains untopped as the king of the opening.
His preparations were great but he is also such a great opener to mid-game transitioner that he solved a lot of conventional positions like pins and stuff with great aplomb. I also consider Kasparov to still be the greatest chess maestro ever, simply coz he has ticked the longetivity box of chess legends. Like from the times of Alkehine or earlier, Kaspa made it to his 50s as a legend. ( so has Vishy). I aint got much time for 30 something semi-autistic kids who refuse to grow up and act bigger than the game, even if they are a young donny bradman of the game for that matter, so Magnus and as well as for the Indian greats that are emergent, i wont put them in Vishy-Kaspa etc bracket till they make it to their late 40s/mid 50s as active top end players. Gotta do the hard yards to earn the top elite status in my books, hence no Fischer in the top list for me ( guy was a burnout. in cricket terms, he is like first 4 years career great,then getting bored and retired at 25.

 

But yes, i agree on Pragu's problem, though i dont follow chess as deep to know about his coaching situation. If he isnt coached by full time coaches despite being crorepati, then well i will say problem is ALSO him and his parents.
Maybe they still have desi parent mentality of 'abhi bhi baccha haye, do-teen world championship jetne ke baad, beta doctor banega' and dont take this that uber seriously. Maybe they do and they are all just all working on the problem and we are just being dramatists.


But from what i can tell, here's the deal with Pragu in simple Chess mechanics - guy is a stunningly good winner in games. his overall win rate is up there with the very best- even up there in the same elite range as Magnus and Hikrau and Firouja. Its just that his loss rate is also significantly higher than them- ie, he just has significantly less draws on his CV. He needs to rectify this and just convert a few losses to draws and he would shoot to the top 3 top 4 easily.

Easy for us to say, but there in lies crux of the matter - guy has to make more draws of his losses. His win rate is just fine even by the elite standards.

Edited by Muloghonto
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8 hours ago, rangeelaraja said:

Nodirbek Abdusattarov seems be the toughest competition to both Gukesh and Pragg.

 

He got Gukesh in alot of trouble ( and pragg too ) before they were both able to secure draws.

 

I don't know if he can qualify for the candidates - but if he does - he is capable of winnings the candidates. 

 

Gukesh vs Nodirbek if it ever happens will be a really good and tough match. ( I would never like to see Gukesh and Pragg face off ...whoever loses, it will be heartbreaking)

Firouzja has all the tools to challenge for the crown but he is too eager to follow the Magnus train, doesn't have personality or ambition of his own, he is content if Magnus throws a few bits of praise his way, such people are forgotten in history.

 

Rarely plays classical these days, just rapid/blitz, he won't develop this way. Magnus played so much classical in his formative years to reach the position he is in today, now misguiding youngsters by undermining classical just because he doesn't want the grind anymore. 

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3 hours ago, rangeelaraja said:

Also training and preparation matters a lot - Gukesh has Gajweski exclusively - who was Anand's trainer.

 

Pragg's coach RB Ramesh runs an academy and his priorities are split.   I wish Pragg got a full time exclusive trainer.  His results would improve signficantly in terms of big tournament performances / victories. 

 

2 hours ago, Muloghonto said:

But yes, i agree on Pragu's problem, though i dont follow chess as deep to know about his coaching situation. If he isnt coached by full time coaches despite being crorepati, then well i will say problem is ALSO him and his parents.
Maybe they still have desi parent mentality of 'abhi bhi baccha haye, do-teen world championship jetne ke baad, beta doctor banega' and dont take this that uber seriously. Maybe they do and they are all just all working on the problem and we are just being dramatists.

Peter Svidler is Pragg's coach. Full time or not I am not sure, but he was there in the candidates. Ramesh approached Svidler and arranged this collaboration, remember the latter saying this in an interview. 

 

Svidler is a big name, great theoretician (final authority on Grunfeld), product of Soviet school of chess and a top guy. 

 

All our WACA guys are being taken great care of, and guided well. Arjun parting ways with WACA/Anand and his coach Srinath Narayanan was not a good career move IMO. Sure his current coach is another Anand second, Rustam Kasimdhzanov, but Rustam is also training Nodirbek, his priority will always be a fellow Uzbek, that too when he has been specially appointed by the Uzbek dictator to helm chess affairs in his country. 

Edited by Gollum
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3 hours ago, Muloghonto said:

 

You sell Kasparov short - if Carlsen is the king of the endgame, which he himself thinks is overblown, one thing is certain- Kasparov was and to this day remains untopped as the king of the opening.
His preparations were great but he is also such a great opener to mid-game transitioner that he solved a lot of conventional positions like pins and stuff with great aplomb. I also consider Kasparov to still be the greatest chess maestro ever, simply coz he has ticked the longetivity box of chess legends. Like from the times of Alkehine or earlier, Kaspa made it to his 50s as a legend. ( so has Vishy). I aint got much time for 30 something semi-autistic kids who refuse to grow up and act bigger than the game, even if they are a young donny bradman of the game for that matter, so Magnus and as well as for the Indian greats that are emergent, i wont put them in Vishy-Kaspa etc bracket till they make it to their late 40s/mid 50s as active top end players. Gotta do the hard yards to earn the top elite status in my books, hence no Fischer in the top list for me ( guy was a burnout. in cricket terms, he is like first 4 years career great,then getting bored and retired at 25.

More or less agree. But a factual error, Alekhine died in the mid 1940s, much before Kasparov was born. He was the 4th world champion, Kaspy was 13th. Easy way to remember is Alekhine though a great player is universally disliked for his Nazi affiliation, strong suspicion that he was killed by a French death squad following end of WW-II. 

 

Kaspy shot to limelight in early 80s when Karpov was ruling the roost and Kortchnoi a distant second. He retired at the age of 41/42, timed it very well just when he was on the edge of a cliff. In terms of longevity I rate Anand higher, he was genuinely hanging with the elite in his early 50s....as a 45 year old won candidates and challenged peak Carlsen, 22 years his junior, won a bunch of supertournaments in 2014-15 (Grenke, Bilbao, London Chess Classic) and on several occasions finished higher than Carlsen/Aronian/Caruana like in 2015 Norway where he crushed Carlsen in their individual classical encounter. At the age of 48, won world rapid gold and a bronze in world blitz, again beating Carlsen on his way to gold. At the age of 50, almost won Sinquefield cup. Even in his 50s he has beaten plenty of elite players multiple times which people don't appreciate enough......longevity was common before Fischer (more like amateur era) but chess is becoming a younger man's game with time. Sure one may say he became GM only at the age of 18 but that was more due to lack of chess culture in India, and anyway within 5 years of becoming GM he was making deep runs in Candidates, became steady rank 2 by '93 and less than 8 years after becoming GM, challenged Kasparov for the crown.

 

Karpov too had more longevity than Kasparov, elite till his late 40s, his win in 1994 Linares was legendary and silenced many critics who used to point out his inflated tournament victories record in 70s to early 80s (only rival was Korchnoi who was never a credible threat, less so because of KGB activities following his defection......Fischer was absent, Spassky and Taimanov barred from competing due to national shame they brought, Petrosian/Smyslov/Larsen too old and barely active, before Kasparov's entry, regarded as a weak era where Karpov won almost everything).

 

But for me, king of longevity will always be Korchnoi (Viktor the "Terrible") who IIRC was top 10 even in his 60s, in the brutally tough 90s era. Didn't have a high peak, not particularly talented (read Spassky's hilarious description HERE) but no one in history had/has or will have the passion for chess he had. When he was 80, he beat 18 year old Caruana in classical, Caruana then was already a top 10 player. 

 

Fascinating life for Korchnoi, his defection, the controversial title matches against Karpov (his family including wife/son were put in labour camp to put psychological pressure on him), his wife Petra's life (alleged former spy) is even more interesting. Sadly we lost Petra a couple of years back (she was very close to Vishy/Aruna), Korchnoi died in 2015 or '16. 

Edited by Gollum
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