Yakubboev, Rapport win @ 2nd Uzchess Cup
“A game is not over till it is over” is what leader GM Abdusattorov learned through a painful defeat in the hands of fellow Uzbek GM Yakubboev in the sixth round of the 2nd Uzchess Cup at Tashkent. Another heavy weight GM Praggnanandhaa went down to GM Richard Rapport who was in his elements today. Abdusattorov’s loss saw GMs Erigaisi and Maghsoodloo arrive on top of the leader board with 4.0 points. Local star GM Sindarov remained right behind at 3.5 points. With three rounds to go, the crowd on the top is bound further exciting battles.
The match-up between two Nodirbek gladiators began with the traditional Queens Gambit Declined. An early liquidation 22…cxd4? of a doubled pawn put the higher seeded Uzbek on the back foot. From that position till the very end Yakubboev kept the Uzbek No. 1 in constant pressure. At the turn of the first time control went for a knight sacrifice 41…Nxf3+ moving into a suspect rook, bishop versus rook ending. With herculean defence and persistence Abdusattorov got into king, rook & bishop versus king & rook after the 86th move Rxh4. Now it turned out to be a grim battle of perseverance and persistence. It was here that the defending champion Yakubboev went one up on his more famous rival. It came down to breaking the opponent, who slipped in the final hour playing 129…Rc2?? and resigned a couple of moves later.
Hungarian GM Richard Rapport was all precision as he overcame the young and illustrious Indian Grandmaster across the board. The King’s Indian Defense Sämisch Variation game was one for the connoisseurs as Rapport kept making moves like a trapeze artist leaving the viewer in awe. Pragg for once was unable to find the right answers and was left wanting in the end. Black was in complete domination and it was a zug zwang that forced Pragg to resign. Kudos to King Richard for giving us a taste of what he can. Pragg’s second defeat in a row should come as a rude jolt, with three rounds to go, the chess world would surely love to see the Indian bounce back.
The 7th round starts at 3 PM local time 3:30 PM IST on Wednesday 25th June, 2025.
(Round 6 Results): Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (3.0) lost to Rapport Richard (2.5), Erigaisi Arjun (4.0) drew with Sindarov Javokhir (3.5), Aravindh Chithambaram V R (2.0) drew with Vokhidov Shamsiddin (1.5), Yakubboev Nodirbek (2.5) beat Abdusattorov Nodirbek (4.0), Maghsoodloo Parham (4.0) drew with Nepomniachtchi Ian (2.5)
Yakubboev Nodirbek (2659) – Abdusattorov Nodirbek (2767) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bxc4 Nxe4 7. O-O Nf6 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. Ne5 Rb8 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Rd1 O-O 12. Qxa7 Bd7 13. Qa4 c5 14. Qc2 Bc6 15. a3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Qd6 17. Be2 Be4 18. Qd2 Rfd8 19. a4 Qc6 20. f3 Bg6 21. Bb5 Qa8 22. Ba3 cxd4 23. cxd4 e5 24. Qc1 exd4 25. Be7 Qa7 26. Bc5 Qa5 27. Rxd4 c6 28. Rxd8+ Rxd8 29. Bxc6 Rc8 30. Bb5 h6 31. Qc4 Bd3 32. Qb4 Qxb4 33. Bxb4 Bxb5 34. axb5 Rb8 35. Ra5 Nd7 36. Kf1 Nb6 37. Bd6 Rb7 38. Bg3 Kh7 39. Bf2 Nc4 40. Ra4 Nd2+ 41. Ke1 Nxf3+ 42. gxf3 Rxb5 43. Kf1 Kg6 44. Rg4+ Kh7 45. h4 f6 46. Rc4 h5 47. Rc7 Kg6 48. Kg2 Rb2 49. Kg3 Rb1 50. Bc5 Rb8 51. Kf4 Re8 52. Rd7 Rc8 53. Bd6 Re8 54. Rb7 Rd8 55. Bc5 Rc8 56. Bb4 Re8 57. Be7 Kf7 58. Bc5+ Kg6 59. Bb4 Rc8 60. Ke4 Re8+ 61. Re7 Rb8 62. Bd6 Rb1 63. Ra7 Re1+ 64. Kd5 Rd1+ 65. Ke6 Re1+ 66. Kd7 Re3 67. Ra3 Re1 68. Kd8 Rh1 69. Ra4 Rh3 70. Rf4 Kf7 71. Kd7 Rh1 72. Re4 Rh3 73. Re7+ Kg8 74. Re8+ Kh7 75. Ke7 Rxf3 76. Kf7 Rd3 77. Be7 Re3 78. Rb8 Re4 79. Bf8 Ra4 80. Rb7 Rxh4 81. Bxg7 Ra4 82. Bxf6 h4 83. Bg5 Ra6 84. Rb4 Ra7+ 85. Be7 Ra6 86. Rxh4+ Rh6 87. Rg4 Ra6 88. Rg7+ Kh6 89. Rg8 Kh7 90. Rg5 Rb6 91. Rg7+ Kh6 92. Rg8 Kh7 93. Rg5 Ra6 94. Bc5 Rc6 95. Bf8 Rc7+ 96. Be7 Rc6 97. Rg7+ Kh6 98. Rg4 Kh7 99. Bf6 Rc7+ 100. Ke6 Rc1 101. Be5 Rf1 102. Bf4 Ra1 103. Kf6 Ra6+ 104. Kf5 Ra1 105. Rh4+ Kg8 106. Be5 Ra6 107. Bf6 Ra2 108. Rh8+ Kf7 109. Rh7+ Kg8 110. Rg7+ Kf8 111. Rc7 Kg8 112. Rg7+ Kf8 113. Rb7 Kg8 114. Bd4 Ra6 115. Bb6 Ra4 116. Be3 Ra6 117. Bc5 Rc6 118. Bb4 Ra6 119. Bc3 Rc6 120. Bf6 Rc1 121. Be5 Rc6 122. Rd7 Ra6 123. Bd6 Ra1 124. Be7 Ra6 125. Bf6 Ra2 126. Ke6 Ra6+ 127. Ke7 Kh7 128. Kf7 Ra2 129. Bd4 Rc2?? (Check mate or loss of material is imminent. 129…Rg2 will save the game)
130. Kf6+ Kg8 131. Rd8+ Kh7 132. Kf5 1-0
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (2767) – Rapport Richard (2714) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Nge2 a6 7. Be3 Nbd7 8. Qd2 b5 9. h4 h5 10. O-O-O e5 11. d5 Nb6 12. Bxb6 cxb6 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Kb1 b4 15. Nb5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bf5+ 17. Ka1 Ra4 18. Nc1 Qd7 19. Bc4 Rc8 20. Qe2 e4 21. Bb3 exf3 22. gxf3 Ra5 23. Bc4? (With 23. Nd4 game would be evenly poised)
23…Bc2 24. Rd2 Ba4 25. Nd4 Rac5 26. Nc6 Bxc6 27. Nb3 Rxc4 28. Qxc4 Bb5 29. Qe4 Bc4 30. Rc2 b5 31. Nc1 Re8 32. Qf4 Qa7 33. Rxc4 bxc4 34. Qxc4 b3 35. Rd1 bxa2 36. Qxa2 Qf2 37. Qb3 Re3 0-1
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