Traps, Tricks & Mistakes: Queen Trapped … Twice!!
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (born 1994) is an Indian chess master. He attained the GM title in January 2013, becoming the 30th player from India to obtain that qualification.
In 2023 he won the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament with a score 8,5/11. The Grand Swiss was part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship 2024. Thanks to his victory, Vidit qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2024 to be held in Toronto (Canada) in April 2024.
As a preparation for the Candidates, Vidit took part in the 2024 Prague Chess Festival held in Prague, Czech Republic from February 27-March 7. Fellow Indian GMs, Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh, who also qualified for the Candidates, took part in Prague.
Unfortunately, the tournament was not good for Vidit, who finished last with a score 3/9. Vidit started the competition with four draws and lost in round 5 against his compatriot Praggnanandhaa. In round 6 things went even worse in his game against German GM Vincent Keymer. Despite obtained a dream position after winning his opponent’s queen, Vidit spoiled it after an unbelievable blunder in move 33 and lost his queen.
With this background, you can imagine Vidit’s state of mind at round 7. He desperately needed a win. His opponent was the Iranian GM Parham Maghsoodloo who played the white pieces. Maghsoodloo is known for his aggressive style of play and in the game he kept pressure on Vidit’s position. Misfortune came in move 26 when carelessly Vidit compromised the safety of his queen and shortly thereafter his opponent trapped it.
For a second day in a row, Vidit blundered a queen! This second time, at least, the blunder was not as evident as in the previous game. It is a very unusual case among players in top-level competitions such as this one.
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