As number four in the current world rankings, Vincent Keymer started the Prague Masters as the top seed. However, his start was a shaky one. As luck of the draw would have it, he had to face Jorden Van Foreest with the black pieces in the very first round, the same opponent against whom he had suffered a painful loss with black earlier this year in Wijk aan Zee.
In Prague, history repeated itself. Keymer was forced onto the defensive in the opening stage and stood on the brink of a quick and bitter loss. Then, however, Van Foreest began to falter: first he missed a clear win and then, in a complicated position, overlooked a tactical counter by Keymer. Yet, the German star also failed to spot this idea, and so Van Foreest was ultimately still able to secure the victory.
Vincent Keymer (left, with black) at the start of his game against Jorden Van Foreest | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
As a result of this loss, Keymer dropped to fifth place in the live world rankings. The new number four is Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who defeated Aravindh Chithambaram, the winner of the tournament’s 2025 edition. That game, however, could also have taken a different course, as Aravindh missed several good chances to gain an advantage after a strong opening.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov: Hoping to follow up on his win at the Tata Steel Masters with another success in Prague | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
Nodirbek Yakubboev also appeared well-prepared from an opening-theoretical point of view, putting David Anton under pressure straight out of the opening. Anton used up a great deal of time, which ultimately proved costly.
Local favourite David Navara made a good start to the tournament, winning an attractive game against Parham Maghsoodloo.
The only draw of the round was produced by world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and Hans Niemann. Gukesh, however, had reason to be satisfied with the draw, as after a surprising piece sacrifice by Niemann at the end of the opening he was under pressure for a long time, but eventually managed to save the game with stubborn and precise defence.
World champion Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
