Published 4/12/26
Hello guys! Today we’ll be covering a very recent game played in Round 11 of the 2026 Candidates between GMs Praggnanandhaa and Bluebaum. Throughout the event, Bluebaum has heavily relied on the Petroff Defense, and this has led to several players trying to come up with interesting novelties to surprise him. Pragg was one of those players, and he was able to achieve a favorable position out of the opening against Bluebaum’s Petroff.
Without further ado, let’s get into the game:
I think this is an instructive game for multiple reasons:
- Pragg shows that even at the top level, you shouldn’t be scared to play a dubious line in the opening if it means getting your opponent out of theory. The engine evaluation should not be the only thing you factor in when deciding what openings to play. It is also about your feel for the position.
- Oftentimes, the bishop pair doesn’t matter as much as many people think. In this game, Bluebaum was able to get the bishop pair, but his position took a turn for the worse because of the terrible pawn structure he had to inherit as a result of the bishop trade.
- Always scan the entire board in critical moments. This is mainly referring to the Qa7!! move that Pragg missed. Had he found it, the result would have almost certainly been a win for him.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you learned something new! Have a great day 🙂