Indian teen Pranesh holds World No. 1 Carlsen to draw

Indian teenager GM M Pranesh on Saturday held World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway to a draw in the 4th round of the $120,000 Qatar Masters 2023. Sporting a pink buttoned full-sleeve shirt, the 17-year-old played aggressively with the White pieces to produce the impressive result as the game lasted 53 moves at Lusail Sports Arena.
The draw is a significant achievement for Pranesh, who is one of India’s most promising young talents.
It is also a testament to the strength of Indian chess, which has produced a number of world-class players in recent years.
Pranesh will face GM Arjun Erigaisi in the 5th round.
Also on Saturday, American Hikaru Nakamura, ranked third in the world and second in the tournament, regained his sense of calm by defeating Dutchman Robby Kevlishvili to raise his score to 3.5 points.
Dutchman Anish Giri, ranked seventh in the world and third in the tournament, drew against Uzbekistan’s Shamsiddin Vokhidov, ranked 28th in the tournament.
India’s Erigaisi, ranked sixth in the tournament, stumbled for the first time after three consecutive victories with a draw against compatriot S L Narayanan raising his score to 3.5 points.
Indian D Gukesh, seeded fourth in the tournament, achieved an important victory over Turkish Mert Yilmazyerli, seeded 41st in the tournament, to join the lead.
In the rest of the results, UAE’s Salem Abdul Rahman, ranked 14th in the tournament, posted his third as he beat Muhyiddin Madaminov, raising his score to 3.5 points.
Dutchman Jorden van Forrest, seeded eighth in the tournament, tied with Iranian Seyed Khalil Mousavi, seeded 57th in the tounament.
Qatar’s Hussein Aziz, ranked 141st, on Saturday bagged a valuable point by tying in the fourth-round match against China’s Yuxin Song, raising his score to 2.5 points after his victory in the last round against India’s Aayush Bhattacherjee and his losses in the first and second rounds to Madaminov (Uzbekistan) and Raphael Lagunow (Germany).
In International B Championship – that features 94 male and female players ranked under 2,300 points – Qatar’s Kholoud al-Khelaifi, ranked 53rd in the tournament, played a draw against compatriot Hamad al-Kuwari as did Amer al-Hammadi who was up against India’s Sendhil Parmesh.
In another game, Mohamed al-Qasabi tied with India’s Harshit Srinivasan.
At the end of round 4, Rustum Tolentino (the Phillppines) is top of the standings with 4 points, ahead in moves against Fawaz Mahmoud (Lebanon), Hamood al-Busaidi (Oman), and Mahmood Lodhi (Pakistan) – all with 4 points each.
Meanwhile, general referee of the tournament, Freyd Laurent on Saturday was full of praise for Qatar Chess Association (QCA) for attracting the world’s best players for the Doha event and offering the best of environment for the 10-day championship.
“Without a doubt, I am happy with this atmosphere inside the Lusail Sports Arena, which has contributed to giving the tournament a special character. I want to thank Mohamed al-Mudahka, President of QCA, and all the committees for their great efforts in organising a tournament of this high level and the participation of a large number of countries, which reached 45 countries,” Laurent on Saturday said in his remarks.
“The Qatar Masters in giving opportunity to many young Qatari players through their participation in the International B tournament. Featuring in such top events, Qatar’s young players with promise stand to gain much from their participation,” he added.
Dutchman Giri – making his third appearance in Qatar – on Saturday said any player aiming to win the Qatar Masters 2023 title would require consistently high form through the week.
The 29-year-old world number two said: “I tried hard to recover from the draw in the last round, but my rival performed well. I believe that the tournament will witness many changes during the coming rounds.”
He added: “I am aiming for the top but I know there are 5 tough rounds left until the end. I believe that I will face extreme difficulties during the upcoming rounds. The tournament attracts global media attention and the playing field includes the best players with so many international titles under their belt. I hope that I will be lucky in the end,” he said.
The Dutch player praised the atmosphere at the Lusail Sports Arena, saying ‘the facilities provided by the organising committee are top-notch’.
“I will try to visit some places in Doha before I leave for Romania to participate in my next international tournament,” he said.