Nodirbek Abdusattorov continued his formidable run with victory at the Prague Masters, adding to triumphs at the Tata Steel Masters in January and the London Chess Classic in December. The Uzbek grandmaster now sits fourth in the world on live ratings, making his absence from the Candidates tournament, which begins at the end of March, all the more glaring. Meanwhile, the teenage world champion Dommaraju Gukesh has struggled since winning the world title late in 2024. In Prague he lost three games and finished joint last, leaving him 15th in the live ratings.

    Prague itself was an unusually combative event. The line-up was strong without being exclusively drawn from the world’s top 20, and that broader range seemed to foster a fighting spirit in everyone. Unusually for a tournament of this calibre, more than half the games were decisive. The pick of them was the one below, featuring Czech no. 1 David Navara against another accomplished Uzbek grandmaster, Yakubboev. Navara, at 40 the oldest player in the field by a decade or more, lives up to the title of his book Lessons on Uncompromising Play (Thinkers Publishing, 2024) with a game of relentless energy.

David Navara-Nodirbek Yakubboev

Prague Masters, February 2025

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 d5 4 Bg2 Be7 5 Nf3 O-O 6 O-O Nbd7 7 Qc2 a5 8 Bg5 h6 9 Bxf6 Nxf6 10 Nc3 c6 11 Rfd1 b6 12 e4 dxc4 13 Ne5 Bb7 14 Nxc4 b5 15 Ne3 Rc8 16 Rac1 Qb6 17 e5 Nd5 18 Ne4 Restraining the c6-c5 break is the key strategic tussle in this middlegame. Therefore, 18…Nxe3 19 fxe3 c5! was called for, to liberate the Bb7 and Rc8. For example, 20 Nxc5 Bxg2 21 Kxg2 Rc7 followed by Rfc8 gives roughly equal chances. Nb4 Probably played in the expectation that the queen would move to b3 or b1, but Navara responds more ambitiously. 19 Qe2 Nxa2 20 Ra1 Nb4 21 Nf6+ A powerful shot, which Navara must have planned in advance. Now if 21…gxf6 22 Qg4+ Kh8 23 Qh4 Kg7 24 Ng4 yields a decisive attack. Bxf6 22 exf6 Qd8 There is no time to recapture: the queen is urgently needed in defence. 23 fxg7 Kxg7 24 Ng4 Ra8 A baffling move at first sight, but this prepares Bb7-c8 in what follows. 25 Qe5+ f6 26 Qxe6 Bc8 27 Qe2 Qd6 28 Ne3 Bd7 Material parity is restored, and Navara’s safer king confers a healthy edge. Now he initiates a new tactical storm. 29 d5 c5 30 Qxb5! Simple enough, since 30…Bxb5 31 Nf5+ recovers the queen, but there is a deeper point to come Nc2! (see diagram) 31 Qc6!! Magnificent. In case of 31…Bxc6 32 Nf5+ Kh8 33 Nxd6 Nxa1 34 dxc6 the c-pawn will decide the game. Qe7 32 Qc7 Nxe3 33 d6! Navara allows no respite. Incredibly, the Ne3 will never actually be captured. Qe6 34 Re1 Ra6 35 Rad1! Much stronger than 35 Rxe3 Qxd6, when Black may hope to survive. Qg4 Eyeing up the Rd1 forestalls Re1xe3 and Re3-e7+, but the queen is also tied to the defence of d7, hence what follows: 36 h3! Qa4 37 b3! Qxb3 37…Qb5 38 Rxe3 is hopeless. 38 Qxd7+ Rf7 39 Qxf7+ Kxf7 40 d7 Nxg2 41 Re7+! A stylish end to a beautiful game. Kxe7 42 d8=Q+ Kf7 43 Rd7+ Kg6 44 Qe8+ Kg5 45 Qe4! This quiet move is the easiest way. There are too many threats to handle. f5 46 Rg7+ Rg6 47 h4+ Kf6 48 Qe7 checkmate.