Fujairah Global R2: Pranav Venkatesh wins two in-a-row

by Shahid Ahmed - 27/08/2025

GM Pranav Venkatesh defeated GM Eduardo Bonelli Iturrizaga (ESP) in the second round of Fujairah Global 2025 Superstars. Eduardo went wrong in the double rook and minor piece endgame, Pranav seized his advantage without any difficulty. GM Pranav Anand outplayed the reigning Asian Individual champion, GM Bardiya Daneshvar (IRI). GM S L Narayanan, GM Aditya Mittal and GM Pranesh M drew against their higher rated opponents - GM Raunak Sadhwani, GM Daniel Dardha (BEL) and GM Leon Luke Mendonca. The top seed, GM Nihal Sarin bounced back with a win over GM Ido Gorshtein (ISR). GM Bharath Subramaniyam H played a solid draw versus the legend and former World Rapid champion, GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (UKR). Today is the sole double round of the tournament. Round 3 starts today at 10 a.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. IST. Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

Superstars: Pranav Anand outplays Bardiya Daneshvar

In the Masters section, IM Nikhil Dixit held GM Vahap Sanal (TUR) to a draw. IM Sambit Panda played a fine game to beat former World Under-14 champion, IM Ilamparthi A R. IM Sahib Singh, Sambit, IM Aswath S, GM Prraneeth Vuppala, IM Anuj Shrivatri, IM Mohammad Anees M, IM Jubin Jimmy and IM Kashish Manoj Jain have won both of their first two games. FM Gaurang Bagwe, CM Arush Chitre and FM Garv Rai drew against IM Renat Bigaliev. IM Kushagra Mohan and IM Ryo Chen (USA) respectively.

GM Pranav Venkatesh won his second game in-a-row | Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

Eduardo - Pranav

Position after 36.Bd2??

GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (ESP, 2576) opted for 36.Bd2?? to prepare g4 by supporting the f4-pawn. However, this idea is slightly slow as seen in the game. GM Pranav Venkatesh (2597) opted for 36...d4-+ 37.h3 Rf8 38.Re1 needed to be played in the above diagram instead of 36.Bd2. The game continued 36...Kd5 39.Rxe4 Nxe4 40.Bc1 a6 41.g4? it only helped Black. 41...hxg4+ 42.hxg4 b5 computer suggests to play Rh8 immediately. 43.axb5 axb5 44.f5 Rh8 45.Kg2?? Rh4 46.g5 Rg4+ 47.Kh3 Nf2+ and Black won.

GM Pranav Venkatesh scored a fine victory over GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

The All-Chinese clash between GM Shanglei Lu and GM Jiner Zhu ended in a draw | Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

GM S L Naraayanan (pictured) - GM Raunak Sadhwani: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

GM Alan Pichot (ESP) drew against the UAE no.1 - GM Salem Saleh | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Pranav Anand outplayed the reigning Asian Individual 2025 champion - GM Bardiya Daneshvar (IRI) | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Daniel Dardha (BEL) - GM Aditya Mittal: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Leon Luke Mendonca - GM Pranesh M: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

The top seed GM Nihal Sarin bounced back with a win over GM Ido Gorshtein (ISR) | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Bharath Subramaniyam H played a solid draw against the legend and former World Rapid champion - GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (UKR) | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Masters: Nikhil Dixit plays well against Vahap Sanal

IM Nikhil Dixit played really well and got some chances against GM Vahap Sanal (TUR) | Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

IM Sambit Panda got the better of IM Ilamparthi A R | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Ceremonial first move of Round 2 | Photo: Anna Shtourman

Round 2 in progress | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

For more Round 2 photos, please click at the following links - part 1 and part 2.

Replay live stream

Replay Round 2 live commentary by Angelika Valkova (UKR) and GM Viorel Iordachescu (MDA) | Video: Fujairah Chess & Culture Club

Replay Round 2 Superstars games

Replay Round 2 Masters games

Round 2 Superstars results

Bo.	No.		White	FED	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	FED	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	27	GM	JACOBSON, Brandon	USA	2594	1	½ - ½	1	GM	SJUGIROV, Sanan	HUN	2636	9	PGN
2	12	GM	CHEPARINOV, Ivan	BUL	2625	1	½ - ½	1	GM	MURADLI, Mahammad	AZE	2586	31	PGN
3	18	GM	MISHRA, Abhimanyu	USA	2610	1	½ - ½	1	GM	HONG, Andrew	USA	2580	35	PGN
4	32	GM	ZEMLYANSKII, Ivan	FID	2586	1	0 - 1	1	GM	SULEYMANLI, Aydin	AZE	2609	19	PGN
5	36	GM	ITURRIZAGA BONELLI, Eduardo	ESP	2576	1	0 - 1	1	GM	PRANAV, V	IND	2597	23	PGN
6	43	GM	MOVAHED, Sina	IRI	2558	1	0 - 1	1	GM	MOTYLEV, Alexander	ROU	2595	25	PGN
7	5	GM	LU, Shanglei	CHN	2647	½	½ - ½	1	GM	ZHU, Jiner	CHN	2536	44	PGN
8	26	GM	NARAYANAN, S L	IND	2595	½	½ - ½	½	GM	SADHWANI, Raunak	IND	2676	2	PGN
9	24	GM	GREBNEV, Aleksey	FID	2595	½	½ - ½	½	GM	SHANKLAND, Sam	USA	2670	4	PGN
10	34	GM	PICHOT, Alan	ESP	2581	½	½ - ½	½	GM	SALEM, A.R. Saleh	UAE	2640	7	PGN
11	8	GM	MARTINEZ ALCANTARA, Jose Eduardo	MEX	2636	½	1 - 0	½	GM	SOCKO, Bartosz	POL	2574	37	PGN
12	28	GM	PRANAV, Anand	IND	2590	½	1 - 0	½	GM	DANESHVAR, Bardiya	IRI	2625	13	PGN
13	16	GM	DARDHA, Daniel	BEL	2616	½	½ - ½	½	GM	ADITYA, Mittal	IND	2560	42	PGN
14	39	GM	KANTOR, Gergely	HUN	2569	½	0 - 1	½	GM	DONCHENKO, Alexander	GER	2616	17	PGN
15	20	GM	MENDONCA, Leon Luke	IND	2606	½	½ - ½	½	GM	PRANESH, M	IND	2589	29	PGN
16	38	GM	GORSHTEIN, Ido	ISR	2571	½	0 - 1	0	GM	NIHAL, Sarin	IND	2692	1	PGN
17	3	GM	TABATABAEI, M. Amin	IRI	2673	0	1 - 0	0	GM	NAIDITSCH, Arkadij	BUL	2604	21	PGN
18	6	GM	THEODOROU, Nikolas	GRE	2646	0	½ - ½	0	GM	KUZUBOV, Yuriy	UKR	2600	22	PGN
19	10	GM	PURANIK, Abhimanyu	IND	2635	0	0 - 1	0	GM	DUDIN, Gleb	HUN	2583	33	PGN
20	30	GM	KOZAK, Adam	HUN	2586	0	½ - ½	0	GM	VOLOKITIN, Andrei	UKR	2628	11	PGN
21	14	GM	HAKOBYAN, Aram	ARM	2625	0	½ - ½	0	GM	PIORUN, Kacper	POL	2568	40	PGN
22	41	GM	BHARATH, Subramaniyam H	IND	2562	0	½ - ½	0	GM	IVANCHUK, Vasyl	UKR	2623	15	PGN

Details

Standings after Round 2

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	K	rtg+/-
1	23	GM	PRANAV, V		IND	2597	2	2	10	11
2	25	GM	MOTYLEV, Alexander		ROU	2595	2	2	10	10,6
3	19	GM	SULEYMANLI, Aydin		AZE	2609	2	1,5	10	9
4	12	GM	CHEPARINOV, Ivan		BUL	2625	1,5	2,5	10	3,9
5	9	GM	SJUGIROV, Sanan		HUN	2636	1,5	2	10	3,7
6	18	GM	MISHRA, Abhimanyu		USA	2610	1,5	2	10	4
7	27	GM	JACOBSON, Brandon		USA	2594	1,5	2	10	6,3
8	35	GM	HONG, Andrew		USA	2580	1,5	2	10	6
9	8	GM	MARTINEZ ALCANTARA, Jose Eduardo		MEX	2636	1,5	1,5	10	3,4
10	28	GM	PRANAV, Anand		IND	2590	1,5	1,5	10	6,2
11	31	GM	MURADLI, Mahammad		AZE	2586	1,5	1,5	10	6,2
12	44	GM	ZHU, Jiner	w	CHN	2536	1,5	1,5	10	7,4
13	17	GM	DONCHENKO, Alexander		GER	2616	1,5	1	10	3,7
14	1	GM	NIHAL, Sarin		IND	2692	1	2,5	10	-2,9
15	5	GM	LU, Shanglei		CHN	2647	1	2,5	10	-1,5

Details

Round 3 pairings

Bo.	No.		White	FED	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	FED	Rtg	No.
1	19	GM	SULEYMANLI, Aydin	AZE	2609	2		2	GM	PRANAV, V	IND	2597	23
2	25	GM	MOTYLEV, Alexander	ROU	2595	2		1½	GM	MARTINEZ ALCANTARA, Jose Eduardo	MEX	2636	8
3	9	GM	SJUGIROV, Sanan	HUN	2636	1½		1½	GM	PRANAV, Anand	IND	2590	28
4	35	GM	HONG, Andrew	USA	2580	1½		1½	GM	CHEPARINOV, Ivan	BUL	2625	12
5	17	GM	DONCHENKO, Alexander	GER	2616	1½		1½	GM	JACOBSON, Brandon	USA	2594	27
6	44	GM	ZHU, Jiner	CHN	2536	1½		1½	GM	MISHRA, Abhimanyu	USA	2610	18
7	31	GM	MURADLI, Mahammad	AZE	2586	1½		1	GM	TABATABAEI, M. Amin	IRI	2673	3
8	1	GM	NIHAL, Sarin	IND	2692	1		1	GM	NARAYANAN, S L	IND	2595	26
9	2	GM	SADHWANI, Raunak	IND	2676	1		1	GM	ZEMLYANSKII, Ivan	FID	2586	32
10	4	GM	SHANKLAND, Sam	USA	2670	1		1	GM	PICHOT, Alan	ESP	2581	34
11	29	GM	PRANESH, M	IND	2589	1		1	GM	LU, Shanglei	CHN	2647	5
12	7	GM	SALEM, A.R. Saleh	UAE	2640	1		1	GM	ITURRIZAGA BONELLI, Eduardo	ESP	2576	36
13	33	GM	DUDIN, Gleb	HUN	2583	1		1	GM	DARDHA, Daniel	BEL	2616	16
14	43	GM	MOVAHED, Sina	IRI	2558	1		1	GM	MENDONCA, Leon Luke	IND	2606	20
15	42	GM	ADITYA, Mittal	IND	2560	1		1	GM	GREBNEV, Aleksey	FID	2595	24
16	40	GM	PIORUN, Kacper	POL	2568	½		½	GM	THEODOROU, Nikolas	GRE	2646	6
17	11	GM	VOLOKITIN, Andrei	UKR	2628	½		½	GM	GORSHTEIN, Ido	ISR	2571	38
18	13	GM	DANESHVAR, Bardiya	IRI	2625	½		½	GM	KOZAK, Adam	HUN	2586	30
19	37	GM	SOCKO, Bartosz	POL	2574	½		½	GM	HAKOBYAN, Aram	ARM	2625	14
20	15	GM	IVANCHUK, Vasyl	UKR	2623	½		½	GM	KANTOR, Gergely	HUN	2569	39
21	22	GM	KUZUBOV, Yuriy	UKR	2600	½		½	GM	BHARATH, Subramaniyam H	IND	2562	41
22	10	GM	PURANIK, Abhimanyu	IND	2635	0				bye

Details

Masters Round 2 results

2	2	2	GM	KARTHIK Venkataraman	IND	2556	1	½ - ½	1	IM	NAZARI Arad	IRI	2401	79
2	3	81	IM	DIXIT Nikhil	IND	2400	1	½ - ½	1	GM	SANAL Vahap	TUR	2550	3
2	5	7	GM	MALEK Jan	POL	2526	1	1 - 0	1	IM	AAKASH SHARADCHANDRA Dalvi	IND	2396	83
2	6	8	IM	SAMADOV Read	AZE	2522	1	½ - ½	1	IM	AADITYA Dhingra	IND	2394	85
2	7	94	IM	PANDA Sambit	IND	2379	1	1 - 0	1	IM	ILAMPARTHI A R	IND	2515	9
2	10	12	GM	MILADINOVIC Igor	SRB	2501	1	½ - ½	1	IM	ARADHYA Garg	IND	2386	89
2	11	111	IM	WAFA Hamed	EGY	2353	1	0 - 1	1	IM	ASWATH S	IND	2500	13
2	13	16	GM	SIVUK Vitaly	SWE	2495	1	1 - 0	1	FM	AJAY Santhosh Parvathareddy	IND	2379	95
2	17	112	IM	MANISH Anto Cristiano F	IND	2352	1	½ - ½	1	IM	STRIBUK Artiom	FID	2474	25
2	20	32	IM	ORO Faustino	ARG	2465	1	1 - 0	1	FM	JOHN Veny Akkarakaran	IND	2351	113

Details

Standings after Round 2

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	K	rtg+/-
1	7	GM	MALEK, Jan		POL	2526	2	3	10	3,2
2	16	GM	SIVUK, Vitaly		SWE	2495	2	3	10	3,4
3	27	IM	ZVEREV, Lev		FID	2471	2	3	10	3,5
4	39	IM	MAHDAVI, Reza		IRI	2454	2	3	10	3,5
5	62	IM	SAHIB, Singh		IND	2416	2	3	10	2,9
6	65	IM	SONG, Yuxin	w	CHN	2414	2	3	10	2,8
7	75	IM	MAKKAR, Rajat		FRA	2406	2	3	10	2,2
8	94	IM	PANDA, Sambit		IND	2379	2	3	10	6,8
9	145		OMIDI, Arya		IRI	2313	2	3	10	7
10	150	IM	TISSIR, Mohamed		MAR	2309	2	3	10	6,9

Details

Round 3 pairings

3	3	13	IM	ASWATH S	IND	2500	2	2	IM	SONG Yuxin	CHN	2414	65
3	5	71	IM	JAIN Kashish Manoj	IND	2408	2	2	IM	ZVEREV Lev	FID	2471	27
3	7	101	IM	GASPARYAN Erik R.	ARM	2372	2	2	IM	JUBIN Jimmy	IND	2464	34
3	8	107	IM	ROEBERS Eline	NED	2360	2	2	GM	PRRANEETH Vuppala	IND	2458	36
3	10	41	IM	ANUJ Shrivatri	IND	2452	2	2	IM	MAKKAR Rajat	FRA	2406	75
3	11	49	IM	KURU Atilla	TUR	2435	2	2	IM	PANDA Sambit	IND	2379	94
3	12	51	IM	MOHAMED Anees M	IND	2428	2	2	FM	GEORGE SAMIR David	EGY	2345	118
3	15	215		AVSAR Gediz	TUR	2229	2	2	IM	SAHIB Singh	IND	2416	62
3	17	77	FM	CHAN Kim Yew	MAS	2405	1½	1½	GM	KARTHIK Venkataraman	IND	2556	2
3	19	8	IM	SAMADOV Read	AZE	2522	1½	1½	IM	DIXIT Nikhil	IND	2400	81

Details

Links

Tournament Regulations

Fujairah Chess & Culture Club: Official site, fb page, instagram and youtube

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