100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1.
Gelfand challenges the center early, with this pawn push.
Pragg chooses a time-tested defense, aiming for a solid and resilient setup against Gelfand’s opening.
Gelfand advances his pawn, creating space to develop his light-squared bishop and strengthen his kingside setup.
Pragg brings out his bishop while giving a check.
Gelfand interposes his bishop, neutralizing the immediate check.
Having provoked Gelfand’s bishop forward, Pragg calmly moves his bishop back, maintaining flexibility and preparing his next plan.
Gelfand develops his bishop to a long diagonal, also preparing for kingside castling.
Pragg brings his knight into play, improving piece coordination.
Gelfand brings his queen into play, both adding protection to his c-pawn and increasing overall board presence.
Pragg advances his pawn, reinforcing central control and solidifying his position.
Gelfand tucks his king to safety, bringing it into a secure position with short castling.
Pragg repositions his knight toward the center, increasing its activity.
Gelfand brings his knight into play, directly challenging Pragg’s central knight and contesting control of the center.
Pragg advances his pawn to protect his knight, simultaneously gaining space on the kingside and improving his position.
Gelfand brings his rook into play with a subtle idea in mind: retaining the flexibility to move his bishop back and preserve his bishop pair!
Pragg times his exchange perfectly, stopping Gelfand from executing his subtle idea.
He takes back the piece, restoring material balance.
Pragg tucks his king safely away with short castling.
With the center locked, both sides may turn to the wings! Pragg on the kingside and Gelfand on the queenside - promising an intriguing battle ahead!
Pragg moves his bishop to a more active square, improving its scope.
With this rook move, Gelfand sets the stage for a potential pawn advance on the queenside, aiming to gain space.
Pragg advances his pawn, temporarily stopping Gelfand’s pawn advance.
With the center still closed, Gelfand focuses on piece repositioning, seeking the most effective squares.
After 22 minutes of thought, Pragg repositions his queen, subtly enhancing his setup while avoiding any major commitments for the moment.
Gelfand follows his planned sequence, repositioning his knight to more effective squares and patiently improving his setup.
Pragg maneuvers his knight toward the center, aiming to increase its activity.
After 22 minutes of calculation, Gelfand advances his pawn.
Pragg retreats the bishop under attack, keeping it safe.
Gelfand eyes a central outpost, positioning the knight not only for central influence but also to support a potential queenside pawn push.
📝 An outpost is a square, usually in the enemy’s territory, where you can safely place a piece (typically a knight) that cannot easily be attacked by enemy pawns.
Pragg brings the bishop into play, improving piece coordination.
His long knight maneuver reaches its goal, placing the knight on a strong outpost.
Pragg retreats his bishop, maintaining both bishops on the board, for now.
Gelfand opts for a slow, patient move, biding his time while carefully improving his position.
Pragg finally commits, advancing his pawn to initiate play on the kingside and create potential attacking chances.
❓Did you know? With three big tournament wins in 2025, Praggnanandhaa is one of the top favorites to claim a Candidates spot here!
Gelfand pushes carefully, maintaining a solid structure and keeping his position stable while responding to Pragg’s plans.
Pragg shifts his king, clearing the path for his rook to enter the g-file and increase pressure on the kingside.
With this rook move, Gelfand sets up the potential to push his e-pawn, aiming for a central pawn break to challenge Pragg’s position.
Pragg shifts focus, preparing to open the h-file.
With the kingside locked, Gelfand pushes his pawn to create play on the queenside, seeking space and activity there.
The game remains tightly contested. Now, all eyes are on where the first breakthrough will emerge!
Gelfand exchanges a pawn, activating his rook along the newly opened file and setting up a discovered attack on Pragg’s b-pawn.
Pragg takes back, opening a line for his queen, which now automatically defends the b-pawn.
A flexible move: Gelfand can either shift it to the a-file or double on the b-file, intensifying pressure on Pragg’s pawn.
Pragg prepares to advance his h-pawn, also creating space for his rook to move to defend the queenside pawn.
Gelfand repositions his queen, doubling file and intensifying the attack on Pragg’s pawn.
Pragg moves his rook to safeguard the b-pawn, maintaining a solid defensive setup.
Gelfand brings another major piece to the b-file, creating a trio of heavy pieces all targeting Pragg’s b-pawn.
📝 What is battery?
When pieces line up along a rank, file, or diagonal, that’s a battery in action!
He moves his rook to protect the b-pawn, revealing the clever idea behind his earlier queen move that cleared the path for this defense!
Gelfand maneuvers his knight to defend his kingside setup.
He advances the pawn, aiming to open the h-file and create attacking opportunities on the kingside.
Gelfand exchanges a pawn, simultaneously clearing a square for his knight to move.
He takes back the pawn, keeping material balanced.
Both players are running low on the clock and now must navigate carefully toward move 40, where the second time control will grant them additional thinking time!
Pragg targets the knight, aiming to exchange one of his opponent’s key defenders.
He retreats the knight, preserving it as a key defender and keeping his position solid.
With no counterplay on the kingside, he must bring his queen back to protect his vulnerable pawn once again.
He retreats the knight to its previous square, maintaining a solid defensive setup.
With repeated moves on the board, a repetition and likely draw seems possible, given how balanced and equal the position remains.
Pragg avoids repeating moves, keeping the tension alive and the battle fully underway.
Gelfand exchanges knights, simplifying the position while maintaining balance.
He takes back the knight, with his bishop.
He moves his bishop, opening a line for his rook to reinforce the kingside and strengthen his defensive setup.
Both players now receive an additional 50 minutes on their clocks!
Given the closed nature of the position, both sides have focused on careful piece maneuvering, constantly repositioning to find the most effective squares.
Pragg has just invested 25 minutes, half of his remaining time on this single move, showing how critical the position has become.
Possibly hinting at a knight sacrifice? Or maybe just keeping the pressure. Either way, Gelfand is forcing Pragg to spend serious time calculating the dangers.
He finds safety in the center, stepping out of potential threats on the kingside and keeping his position solid.
Gelfand retreats his knight, preparing yet another maneuver!
After five hours, chess turns into a mental endurance test. The strong players are the ones who can still calculate clearly, manage their nerves, and keep pushing when tiredness takes over.
Gelfand creates a pin on Pragg’s f-pawn, setting up the threat of winning material.
Pragg shifts his rook, freeing the pinned pawn.
Gelfand advances with a pawn break, though perhaps earlier than ideal. With more preparation, the same idea could have yielded him a small advantage.
Pragg opts for a rook exchange, reducing tension and slightly clarifying the position.
Gelfand takes back with the knight.
Pragg activates his queen, directly attacking Gelfand’s unprotected knight.
Gelfand pushes his knight out of danger, landing it on a more active square.
So far, the game remains balanced. Both Gelfand and Pragg have played with remarkable accuracy, leaving little room for mistakes.
Gelfand decides to trade the light-squared bishops.
Pragg calmly takes back with the queen.
The game seemed headed for a draw by repetition, but Gelfand now chooses to deviate - mirroring Pragg’s earlier decision to keep the game alive. Both players are signaling clear ambition to play on!
Pragg makes the right call, exchanging his bishop for the knight and easing the pressure in the position.
Gelfand takes back with the pawn.
In this sharp position, Pragg had just a single move to avoid immediate defeat. He spotted it and keeps the game alive!
Gelfand shifts his queen, stepping in to defend the pawn.
Pragg seeks counterplay, he needs it, as Gelfand’s passed pawn could otherwise dominate the position.
A blunder on the board? Gelfand blitzes out his move but it looks like a losing mistake!
Pragg uncovers the correct move. When Gelfand comes back to the board, his reaction says it all: shock and devastation.
With move 60, we’ve arrived at the third and final time control. Both players now receive an extra 15 minutes on the clock for the rest of the game.
Pragg simplifies with a queen trade, converting the position into a clearly winning endgame.
Gelfand recaptures, and with that, the queens are traded off the board.
Pragg grabs a pawn, and with another about to fall, his grip on the position tightens dramatically.
What a game! Round 3 of the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 saw Pragg defeat the legendary Gelfand in a marathon 65-move clash that stretched close to seven hours. The opening was a Queen’s Gambit Declined, leading to a closed center and a slow-burning positional struggle. Gelfand sought play on the queenside, while Pragg turned to the kingside, and both engaged in long stretches of precise maneuvering.
Accuracy was the story of the game, both players declined chances to force repetition, signaling their fighting spirit and determination to push for more. The tension built deep into the endgame, with neither side yielding an inch. But after hours of flawless defense, disaster struck: Gelfand, blitzing out a move under pressure, slipped with a careless blunder. Pragg, ever alert, seized the opportunity with perfect calculation and converted smoothly.
For Gelfand, it’s a heartbreaking loss after holding the balance for so long. For Pragg, it’s a huge victory - a reward for his patience, resilience, and refusal to settle. He continues his momentum in Samarkand, strengthening his position as top seed and underlining why he’s seen as one of the strongest candidates for the next World Championship cycle.
The tournament is heating up, only three players remain on a perfect 2/2, and the competition is already fierce. On board 3 today, we have a fascinating clash between Boris Gelfand of Israel and Praggnanandhaa of India, both sitting on 1.5/2.
It’s a classic battle of generations. Gelfand, at 57, is the evergreen grandmaster - decades of elite chess, countless battles at the very highest level, and still competing with the same resilience that made him a World Championship challenger. Across from him sits Pragg, who just turned 20 and is on fire - three major event victories this year, now World No. 4, India’s top player, the top seed here in Samarkand, and leading the FIDE Circuit. He’s playing like a man on the path to the Candidates, and this Grand Swiss is his proving ground.
What happens today? Will Gelfand’s deep experience and legendary technique slow down the young star, or will Pragg’s momentum and sharp form carry him through against one of the game’s great veterans? Either way, this Round 3 showdown promises fireworks!