WR Chess Masters Cup SF: Arjun and Vachier-Lagrave in final after thrilling victories

WR Chess Masters Cup SF: Arjun and Vachier-Lagrave in final after thrilling victories

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GM Arjun Erigaisi is just one win away from crossing 2800 after winning the first game of his WR Chess Masters Cup 2024 semifinal, then surviving a scare in the second when GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu missed a victory on his last move. Arjun now faces King of Armageddon Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final, after the Frenchman managed to con GM Alireza Firouzja into a completely lost position.

The WR Chess Masters Cup final begins on October 17 at 5:00 a.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CEST/2:30 p.m. IST.

WR Chess Masters Cup support after semi-finals

Arjun 1.5-0.5 Praggnanandhaa

Praggnanandhaa was already a household name (in any chess household) by the time two-year-old Arjun emerged from almost nowhere during the pandemic to begin a rise to the top of the chess world. This took him to his current fourth place in the world, on live ratings, and 2797.9, a victory away from becoming only the 16th player to cross the 2800 mark.

Arjun owes his latest victory in part to the fighting spirit of Praggnanandhaa, who opted for a hyper-aggressive g5 start on the black side of the Ruy Lopez, but it was clear that the ploy had backfired by this point- there. 20.Qd6! appeared on the board, forcing an upper game ending. We had seen Praggnanandhaa show incredible tenacity against Anand in a similar situation the day before, but although this time he almost held his own, he ultimately fell in a devilishly difficult knight’s finale.

This meant Arjun only needed a draw with Black to reach the final, but perhaps he had his eyes on the bigger target of 2800 as he met fire from Praggnanandhaa with fire. Instead of a complex knight finale, we had knights sacrificed with abandon, but in the end the crucial position turned out to be a blow before the end of the match. Praggnanandhaa played 36.Qg5+? and offered a draw, but 36.f5!cutting the defense of the c8 square and threatening to push the pawn further, won!

Praggnanandhaa had the brutal experience of learning her mistake immediately afterwards.

Such things do happen though: Gukesh accidentally repeating three times in a winning position against Praggnanandhaa in Wijk aan Zee earlier this year comes to mind.

Arjun will now face Vachier-Lagrave in the final.

Vachier-Lagrave 2-1 Firouzja

This all-French clash follows the pattern of previous Vachier-Lagrave matches, with lively exchanges of blows and counter-blows in classic games ending in draws, so that everything plays out in an armageddon.

The all-French battle was decided at Armageddon. Photo: Abhyudaya Ram/ChessBase India.

Vachier-Lagrave won the auction and started with the black pieces and seven minutes and 17 seconds to Firouzja’s 10 minutes. Vachier-Lagrave played his faithful Najdorf, but in the 6.f3 variant, Firouzja invested time to move towards an endgame that he completely won. However, his opponent is incredibly cunning, and while giving up a piece for connected passed pawns didn’t get the computer’s approval, it left the way open for scams. Sure enough, at the very end, Firouzja missed a shot, and the game was immediately over!

This makes for a tantalizing finale, with much more than just the trophy or €20,000 first prize at stake. If Arjun wins in classical chess, he will be a 2800 player, while there are also FIDE circuit points (based solely on the eight highest-rated players in an event) at stake.

The points haul would be second only to Firouzja’s points for winning the Sinquefield Cup and would put Arjun above general manager Nodirbek Abdusattorov. the ranking in the race to qualify for a spot in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament. With just two scores out of a potential seven, Vachier-Lagrave is not in that race yet, although a victory in the tournament would move him from 44th in 11th place.

How to watch?

The WR Chess Masters Cup 2024 is a 16-player single-elimination match hosted at the Langham Hotel, London, from October 14-18. Each match consists of two games using the shortest possible classic timing: 60 minutes for 30 moves, 30 minutes for 20 moves, then 30 minutes until the end of the game, without increment. A 1-1 tie is decided by bidding on Armageddon, with 10 minutes left for White. The prize pool is €58,000, including €20,000 for first place.

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Disclaimer: The content on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only.