OSLO: When the Norway Chess crew had given R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh specific attire ahead of their boat race at the tournament's games on Friday, a rest day, both of them were laughing. They decided to change together, next to a closed stall by the bay overlooking the Oslo fjords. The camaraderie had of course began earlier in the day when the duo walked from their hotel to the bay. Two of India's elite and most studied chess players of all time showing that they are friends off the board.
But hostilities were renewed when the fifth round of the tournament began on Saturday evening. It represented an important game between two of the country's top three. The stakes were high because irrespective of the winner, it would be a statement win.
In the end, it was Gukesh, who picked up his first Classical win of the Games. Even as Pragg, who had enjoyed a win over Magnus Carlsen in the third round, walked away from the playing hall with all the energy of a race-walker at the Olympics, the world champion was all smiles. And it was interesting to hear his immediate reactions post the win. "I'm doing much, much better than I was doing even a couple of months earlier," the 20-year-old said in a broadcast interview. "I feel much sharper and much happier in general. The results are still improving, but not where I want to be.
“When you feel good about yourself, you also feel sharper on the board. And you trust yourself more with quick decisions. These are very minor things but at the end of the day that’s what makes the difference."
Gukesh, who genuinely seemed to enjoy Friday's rest day (he was celebrating his birthday), had begun Saturday's matches in last place. So this win will do him a world of good, especially as it quietens the permanent noise around him. On the game itself, he said it was a 'very complex game'.
“It was maybe a bit easier for me because I just needed to throw everything at his king. There were so many tricks that I got super nervous at the end. And the tricks worked out for me.”
Visit to the confession booth
The 'happier' place he mentioned may have been why he even decided to pay a visit to the confessional. Usually, he doesn't do these things. While there, he said; "... really tense position." He had to bring out all the tricks to emerge victorious.
But it could have gone so horribly for him. Playing with the black pieces, he was constantly defending. At one point, he was losing according to the engines as his compatriot had built a head of steam. By the time the match was in middlegame territory, white was very pleasant as both knights were in crucial central squares and connected rooks. If anything, Gukesh had some problems in trying to bring to life to some of his pieces.
In fact, when Pragg started a sequence of moves with a brilliancy on the board — sacrificing his knight — the engine jumped to 2.3. In elite chess, an advantage of that magnitude usually means home and hosed. But with less time on the clock, both players traded mistakes. But the defining mistake came from Pragg's side of the board as he made 43. Kf2. It left his whole king side vulnerable to a devastating attack in the immediate term as long as Gukesh could see it. And he of course saw it as he positioned both his rooks, a bishop as well as the queen. And Pragg, who was winning 10 minutes earlier, resigned when he was seconds from being checkmated.
