Featured is a Quarter-Finals game between R Praggnanandhaa and Fabiano Caruana from Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas, held on July 17th, 2025. The start position for this 30+30 time control game is #262. Both a-pawns were unprotected and vulnerable right from the start. That made things sharp from move one. Just five moves in, it became clear that each player had a struggling knight. A big part of the game ended up hinging on who could bring their bad knight into play more efficiently. That small detail led to a significant shift in momentum.
#Praggnanandhaa #Caruana #FreestyleChess
Image of R Praggnanandhaa by Lennart Ootes
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I’m a self-taught National Master in chess out of Pennsylvania, USA who was introduced to the game by my father in 1988 at the age of 8. The purpose of this channel is to share my knowledge of chess to help others improve their game. I enjoy continuing to improve my understanding of this great game, albeit slowly. Consider subscribing here on YouTube for frequent content, and/or connecting via any or all the below social medias. Your support is greatly appreciated. Take care, bye. 🙂
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PGN
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1. f4 b6 2. b4 f6 3. Nb3 e5 4. fxe5 fxe5 5. Bb2 e4 6. Qd4 Bb7 7. e3 Be7 8. b5 Nf6 9. Qa4 Qf7 10. Be2 O-O 11. Nd4 Bd5 12. g4 Qg6 13. h3 Bd6 14. Ng2 Qe8 15. Rf1 c5 16. bxc6 dxc6 17. Nf4 b5 18. Qa5 Nb6 19. g5 Bxf4 20. Rxf4 Nh5 21. Rxf8+ Qxf8 22. Qxa7 Ng3 23. Ba3 b4 24. Rxb4 Ra8 25. Rxb6 Qd8 26. Be7 Qe8 27. Qc7 c5 28. Bxc5 Rxa2 29. Ke1