Praggnanandhaa Wins the Castling Race Against Vitiugov at the Samarkand Olympiad

Look at the black pawn on b2. It stands right next to the white king, and it attacks the squares a1 and c1. Praggnanandhaa put it there on move 24.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

Position after 24...axb2, with White to move. The black pawn on b2 attacks a1 and c1, right beside the white king on b1. White's pawns on f6 and h5 point at the black king, but Black's pawn has already arrived.

This game was a race. Both players had hidden their kings on opposite sides of the board, so each plan was to attack the other king. In a race like this, the player who does not waste a move is the one who arrives first.

Nikita Vitiugov 0-1 R Praggnanandhaa 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad, Samarkand 2026 · Open Section, Round 7 · 23 September 2026 White: Nikita Vitiugov, England (2666) · Black: R Praggnanandhaa, India (2761)

The win helped India beat England 2.5-1.5. Gukesh D also won for India, against Daniel Howard Fernandez. Arjun Erigaisi drew with Michael Adams, and Luke McShane beat Nihal Sarin for England.

Two kings, two sides

The game began as a French Defence.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.f4 O-O 8.Nf3 c5 9.Qd2 Nc6 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.O-O-O

Black castled short on move 7, which puts the black king on the kingside, on g8. White castled long on move 11, which puts the white king on the queenside, on c1. Kings on opposite sides change the whole game. Each player now sends pawns forward at the other king, like soldiers marching on a castle. This is called a pawn storm.

Trade the attacker, hit the knight

White had a bishop on d3 pointing straight at h7, the pawn next to Black's king. Black got rid of it at once.

12.Qe3 b5 13.Bd3 Nxd3+ 14.Rxd3 b4

Black's knight took the bishop with check, and White recaptured with the rook. Then 14...b4 did two jobs. The pawn kept the storm on the queenside moving, and it attacked the white knight on c3.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

Position after 14...b4, with White to move. The pawn on b4 attacks the knight on c3, so White has to move it. Black's pawn advanced and made White spend a move.

A pawn that attacks a piece makes the other player answer. That gives you time, and in a race, time is everything. White moved the knight with 15.Ne2.

Count the pawn moves

15...Na5 16.Ned4 Nc4 17.Qe1 a5 18.h4 a4 19.Kb1 Ba6 20.f5

Now count. From move 12 to move 20, Black moved a pawn toward the white king four times: b5, b4, a5 and a4. In the same stretch White's storm pawns moved twice, h4 on move 18 and f5 on move 20.

Our engine, Stockfish 17.1 at depth 22, chose 16.f5 as its first move on move 16. That is the same pawn push White played on move 20. By then Black's pawns were already on a4 and b4, and White's king had stepped to b1.

Move 21: the knight jump

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

Position before 21...Na3+, with Black to move. The pawns on a4 and b4 and the knight on c4 are all close to the white pawns on a2, b2 and c2, which shield the king on b1.

Black's pawns on a4 and b4 and the knight on c4 were all close to the shelter around the white king. Praggnanandhaa cracked it open.

21...Na3+

A knight jumps two squares one way and one square to the side. From a3 it attacks b1, so this was check. White had four legal replies: Ka1, Kc1, Rxa3 and bxa3. Our Stockfish run at depth 22 rated all four as better for Black by at least a full pawn.

White took the knight with the rook.

22.Rxa3 bxa3

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

Position after 22...bxa3, with White to move. Black gave a knight and took a rook. The pawn on a3 attacks b2, the pawn that shields the white king.

Black gave a knight, worth three points, and won a rook, worth five. Chess players call that winning the exchange. But the bigger prize was the pawn on a3. It attacks b2, the pawn that shields the white king.

White's attack was real too

23.f6 Qf8 24.h5 axb2

White was not sitting still. After 23.f6, White threatened 24.Qxg7, and that would have been checkmate: the pawn on f6 protects the queen on g7, and the black king has nowhere to go. Black's queen went to f8, which guards g7.

Then Black's pawn took on b2. Look at the position at the top of the article again. That pawn is next to the white king, and White had not given a single check yet.

The finish

25.Rh4 Rab8 26.Rg4 Bd3 27.Nd2 Rc3 28.Rxg7+ Kh8 29.Qg4 Rbc8 30.N2f3 Bxc2+ 31.Nxc2 Rxc2

White's rook took on g7 with check on move 28, White's first check of the game. Black answered 28...Kh8. By then Black had a bishop on d3, a rook on c3 and a pawn on b2, all close to the white king.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

Position after 31...Rxc2, with White to move. Black's rook on c2 and pawn on b2 are both close to the white king on b1. Our Stockfish run at depth 22 finds a forced checkmate for Black from here.

The bishop took on c2 with check, the knight took the bishop, and the rook took the knight. The game record ends here with the result 0-1.

What this game teaches

1. Kings on opposite sides means a race. Count how many moves each side needs to reach the enemy king. Praggnanandhaa's pawns and pieces got there first.

2. A pawn that attacks a piece gains time. 14...b4 hit the knight on c3, and White had to spend a move answering.

3. Trade off the enemy's best attacker. The bishop on d3 was pointing at Black's king. 13...Nxd3+ removed it.

4. Give something to open the door. 21...Na3+ cost a knight and won a rook, and it broke the pawns in front of the white king.

5. A threat is not a win. 23.f6 threatened checkmate, and Black had a defence. Then Black's own attack carried on, and White's never gave a second check.