1st Indore International GM Open R2-3: Defeating Grandmasters is the new normal

Aradhya takes down the top seed

The most exciting result of Round 2 came from the top board, where FM Aradhya Garg (2305) defeated the tournament top seed GM Levan Pantsulaia (2597) with the Black pieces. Aradhya won in just 25 moves - it can be called a modern miniature!

Round 2: Levan Pantsulaia - Aradhya Garg: 0-1

The game started off with the Reti on the board, and initially it seemed that Levan has won the opening battle - the white pieces seemed very comfortable. However, at this point he started to go wrong: 

White has got some nice space in the centre, but trading the central pawn with dxc5 was not the best decision. Instead, a move like Nc3 or Nd2 would've given White a sizeable advantage. After 16..bxc5, Black is back in the game. In chess, one mistake often follows another. The same thing happened with Levan:

Nd2 allows Black to trade off White's powerful Bishop with 17...Be5. Once the Bishop's are traded off, all of White's initiative is gone, and Black can start creating an attack on the Kingside!

Rad1 was the final error, but it's hard to suggest anything else as White's position is already very dangerous. After 24...Qxc4, the threat of Nf5+ made Levan play 25. Kg1?, just hanging the knight 25...Qxe4 and immediately resigned. Check out this detailed post-game interview with Aradhya:

Aleksej Aleksandrov - Harsh Suresh: 0-1

FM Harsh Suresh produced a strong win against experienced Grandmaster Aleksej Aleksandrov with the Black pieces. The youngster found a very nice tactical idea to win a full piece!

Bxe4 is a tactical error due to 21...d5! The game continued 22. cxd5 cxd5 23. f4 Bxc3 24. Qxc3 d4, and White is just losing one piece. Harsh went on to win the game comfortably, scoring one of his biggest wins so far!

Suyog Wagh - Mikheil Mchedlishvili: 0-1

It was a very exciting game between FM Suyog Wagh and GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili in the 3rd round of the 1st Indore International GM Open. Mikheil had a small edge with the Black pieces for the majority of the game, but some complications started in the end! What happened, and who ended up delivering checkmate? Find out in the video.

Rajarishi Karthi - Neelash Saha: 0.5-0.5

Rajarishi Karthi was on his way to score a big win against IM Neelash Saha, but Queen endgames are the trickiest of them all! From a position where Rajarishi was up two pawns, Neelash found a way to keep the game going , and eventually found a way to draw thanks to his superior knowledge of the Queen and pawn theoretical endgames. Check out this post-game interview with both of them:

Round 3: Deep Sengupta - Dinesh Rajan M: 1-0

Grandmaster Deep Sengupta has a perfect score in the event so far - he has scored 3/3. In the 3rd round, he was up against Dinesh Rajan M. Dinesh held his own for quite a long time, but eventually faltered in the endgame.

While White has an obvious advantage due to the Bishop pair, Black can still hold the game. But ...Nf8 is a critical error - the h-pawn should not be allowed upto h6. A better move for Black would've been to play ...d4, breaking in centre and creating threats of their own. But after 52...Nf8 53. h6 Be7 54. Kd1 Bc5, the problem becomes apparent - neither the Black king or the Black Knight is able to leave the Kingside at all due to the advanced h6 pawn. Deep went on to win the game comfortably.

For more photos, check out our Facebook album.

All the Round 2-3 games

Round 3 results

All Round 3 results

Standings after Round 3

Full standings

Round 4 pairings

Details

The 1st Indore International GM Open 2023 is taking place in Emerald Heights International School, Indore. The total prize fund of this mega event is Rs. 33 lakhs. The event is being organized by the Malwanchal Chess Club and All Indore Chess Federation, under the Madhya Pradesh Ad Hoc Chess Committee. This is a 10-round classical swiss event which will run from 1st April 2023 - 8th April 2023. The time control of the event is 90 minutes +30 seconds increment. Round 4 starts from 3rd April 2 PM IST.

Important links

Emerald Heights International School Indore Facebook page

Emerald Heights International School Indore Instagram 

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