21st Delhi GM Open R5-6: S L Narayanan and Abhijeet Gupta in a six-pack lead

by Shahid Ahmed - 11/06/2025

GM S L Narayanan and GM Abhijeet Gupta are the only two Indians in the lead at 21st Delhi GM Open 2025. Both of them won their fourth round game before facing each other in the following round. It ended in a draw. They are joined by GM Mamikon Gharibyan (ARM), GM Boris Savchenko, GM Manuel Petrosyan (ARM) and GM Luka Paichadze (GEO). A dozen players are trailing them by a half point at 5/6 each. Alekhya Mukhopadhyay and Bivor Adak are the two untitled players among them. Alekhya defeated IM Hari Madhavan N B and drew against GM Aditya S Samant in the final double round of the tournament. Round 7 starts today at 10 a.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

A good day for Alekhya Mukhopadhyay

GM S L Narayanan and...

...GM Abhijeet Gupta are in a six-pack lead

Nikitenko - Narayanan, Round 5

Position after 20...b5

21.Kb1 bxc4 22.Rc1 would have been fine for White. Instead, GM Mihail Nikitenko (2520) made a big positional mistake 21.c5?? it created a target for Black b4!-+ 22.Qc4 Be6 23.Qa6 bxa3 24.Qxa3 Na5 25.Rc2 Nc4 26.Qb4 a5 27.Qc3 Qxc5 28.Kb1 Qb6 29.Re1 f5 30.Bd3 e4 and it's over. GM S L Narayanan (2600) won his fifth game in-a-row to maintain his lead.

Abhijeet - Deepan

Position after 31.Qg4

31...Rb8 needed to played to prevent Qc8 invasion. 31...Kg6? allowed 32.Qc8+- h5 33.g4 h4 34.Nd7 Qd6 35.Rc5 Kg7 36.Rxb5 cxb5 37.Nc5 a4 38.Qe8 Qc6 39.Qe7+ Kg6 40.Nd7 Bf7 41.d5 Qxd5 42.Qxf6+ Kh7 43.Ne5 and GM Abhijeet Gupta (2538) won. A practical example of how queen and knight is a stronger combination than queen and bishop in a closed position.

IM Harsh Suresh (pictured) - GM Luka Paichadze (GEO): 0.5-0.5

Karthik - Dinesh

Position after 31.Nb3?

GM Karthik Venkataraman (2550) got himself in deep trouble when he played 31.Nb3? IM Dinesh Kumar Sharma (2171) seized his advantage 31...Rc7 32.Qb6 Qe4+ 33.Kg1 Qxe5 34.Rd4 Rc8 35.Qb7 Qc7 36.Qe4 Qc6 37.Qd3 Qb6 38.Qf3 Qc6 39.Qd3 Qb6 40.Qf3 Qc6 and the game ended in a draw via repetition. It was not easy to figure out how to capitalize on the connected b and c-passed pawns.

Former National Blitz Champion - IM Dinesh Sharma played an exciting game against the reigning National Champion - GM Karthik Venkataraman

GM Tornike Sanikidze (GEO) - Manas Gaikwad: 0.5-0.5

Hari Madhavan - Alekhya

Position after 22...Qf5

IM Hari Madhavan N B (2386) did not react correctly to an in impending danger. 23.Re3 h4 is still playable compared to what happened in the game 23.dxc6?! bxc6 24.Qf4? Qxf4 25.gxf4 Re6 defending the d6-pawn and also threatening Rg6+. 26.f3 Rg6+ 27.Kf1 exf3 28.Rd4 Rg2 29.Re3 Rf6 White's position fell apart in a hurry. Alekhya Mukhopadhyay (2192) took slightly longer to win as he played imprecisely.

Mukund Hemant Agarwal (pictured) - GM Aleksej Aleksandrov: 0.5-0.5

Daksh Goyal (pictured) - IM Semetei Tologon Tegin (KGZ): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

For more Round 5 photos, click here.

Round 6

The coleaders - GM S L Narayanan (2600) and GM Abhijeet Gupta (2538) drew against each other.

IM Neelash Saha (pictured) - GM Diptayan Ghosh: 0.5-0.5

Alekhya Mukhopadhyay defeated IM Hari Madhavan N B in Round 5 and drew against GM Aditya S Samant in Round 6

Nitin - Karthik

Position after 46...Kh6

White just needed to focus on his passed pawns and push them 47.b4/Ka2/Kc2 are one of the few ways for White to win the game. Instead, IM Nitin S (2312) did the sole thing which allows his opponent GM Karthik Venkataraman (2550) to get back in the game 47.Rdxd5? The d5-pawn was harmless. Capturing it only alleviates the pressure for Black Kg6! 48.Kc2 h5 49.Rxg5+ fxg5 and now White has to play for a draw.

IM Nitin S missed a great opportunity against GM Karthik Venkataraman | Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

Prathamesh - Sriram

Position after 33...Rdd7

Prathamesh Sherla (2259) missed a winning combination against IM Sriram Adarsh Uppala (2460) after 33...Rdd7. Find out what it is.

Prathamesh Sherla drew against IM Aronyak Ghosh in Round 5 and missed a win against IM Sriram Adarsh Uppala in Round 6

Ahaz E U (pictured) - GM Tornike Sanikidze (GEO): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

GM Deepan Chakkravarthy - IM Abhishek Kelkar (pictured): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

A total of 419 players including 24 GMs, 20 IMs and two WIMs are taking part from 17 countries across the world. The eight-day ten round Rating Open tournament is being organized by Delhi Chess Association at Tivoli Gardens in New Delhi from 7th to 14th June 2025. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.

Replay Round 5-6 games

Round 6 results

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	Club/City	No.
1	1	GM	Narayanan S L,	2600	KL	5	½ - ½	5	GM	Gupta, Abhijeet	2538	RJ	6
2	16	IM	Neelash, Saha	2456	RSPB	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Ghosh, Diptayan	2573	RSPB	2
3	5	GM	Petrosyan, Manuel	2541	ARM	4½	1 - 0	4½	IM	Harsh, Suresh	2392	TN	21
4	7	GM	Paichadze, Luka	2529	GEO	4½	1 - 0	4½	IM	Saravana, Krishnan P.	2272	TN	40
5	27	GM	Fedorov, Alexei	2370	BLR	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Sivuk, Vitaly	2522	SWE	8
6	54		Alekhya, Mukhopadhyay	2192	WB	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Samant Aditya S,	2498	MH	12
7	13	GM	Gharibyan, Mamikon	2472	ARM	4½	1 - 0	4½	GM	Manik, Mikulas	2266	SVK	43
8	60	IM	Sharma, Dinesh K.	2171	UP	4½	0 - 1	4½	GM	Savchenko, Boris	2456	RUS	15
9	3	GM	Pantsulaia Levan,	2551	GEO	4	½ - ½	4	IM	Gochelashvili, David	2303	RUS	38
10	37	IM	Nitin, S.	2312	TN	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Karthik, Venkataraman	2550	AP	4
11	41	GM	Karthikeyan, P.	2271	TN	4	0 - 1	4	GM	Nikitenko Mihail,	2520	BLR	10
12	11	IM	Aronyak, Ghosh	2510	RSPB	4	1 - 0	4		Mukund Hemant Agarwal,	2173	GJ	59
13	45	CM	Sherla, Prathamesh	2259	MH	4	½ - ½	4		Sriram, Adarsh Uppala	2460	TG	14
14	58		Ahaz E U,	2178	KL	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Sanikidze Tornike,	2425	GEO	18
15	19	GM	Deepan, Chakkravarthy J.	2410	TN	4	½ - ½	4	IM	Abhishek Kelkar,	2170	MH	61

Details

Standings after Round 6

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5	TB6	K	rtg+/-
1	1	GM	Narayanan S L,				IND	2600	KL	5,5	24	27	24,25	0	5	3	10	7,6
2	13	GM	Gharibyan, Mamikon				ARM	2472	ARM	5,5	22	25,5	23,00	0	5	2	10	8,2
3	15	GM	Savchenko, Boris				RUS	2456	RUS	5,5	21	23,5	20,75	0	5	3	10	6,9
4	6	GM	Gupta, Abhijeet				IND	2538	RJ	5,5	21	23,5	20,75	0	5	2	10	9,3
5	5	GM	Petrosyan, Manuel				ARM	2541	ARM	5,5	20,5	23	20,25	0	5	2	10	6,9
6	7	GM	Paichadze, Luka				GEO	2529	GEO	5,5	20	22	19,75	0	5	2	10	4,5
7	8	GM	Sivuk, Vitaly				SWE	2522	SWE	5	22,5	26,5	21,50	0	4	1	10	-0,4
8	10	GM	Nikitenko Mihail,				BLR	2520	BLR	5	22,5	26,5	21,00	0	5	3	10	1,9
9	2	GM	Ghosh, Diptayan				IND	2573	RSPB	5	22,5	25	19,75	0	4	2	10	1,9
10	24	GM	Nguyen, Duc Hoa				VIE	2378	VIE	5	20,5	24	18,50	0	5	2	10	3,5
11	35	IM	Tologon Tegin, Semetei				KGZ	2322	KGZ	5	20,5	23	18,50	0	4	2	10	3,5
12	12	GM	Samant Aditya S,				IND	2498	MH	5	20	23,5	19,25	0	4	1	10	-3,5
13	16	IM	Neelash, Saha				IND	2456	RSPB	5	20	23	18,75	0	4	1	10	2,3
14	11	IM	Aronyak, Ghosh				IND	2510	RSPB	5	20	23	18,50	0	4	2	10	-2,5
15	54		Alekhya, Mukhopadhyay				IND	2192	WB	5	20	22,5	18,75	0	4	2	40	47,2

Details

Round 7 pairings

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	Club/City	No.
1	15	GM	Savchenko, Boris	2456	RUS	5½		5½	GM	Narayanan S L,	2600	KL	1
2	7	GM	Paichadze, Luka	2529	GEO	5½		5½	GM	Petrosyan, Manuel	2541	ARM	5
3	6	GM	Gupta, Abhijeet	2538	RJ	5½		5½	GM	Gharibyan, Mamikon	2472	ARM	13
4	2	GM	Ghosh, Diptayan	2573	RSPB	5		5	GM	Aleksandrov, Aleksej	2370	BLR	26
5	8	GM	Sivuk, Vitaly	2522	SWE	5		5		Alekhya, Mukhopadhyay	2192	WB	54
6	10	GM	Nikitenko Mihail,	2520	BLR	5		5	GM	Fedorov, Alexei	2370	BLR	27
7	24	GM	Nguyen, Duc Hoa	2378	VIE	5		5	IM	Aronyak, Ghosh	2510	RSPB	11
8	12	GM	Samant Aditya S,	2498	MH	5		5	IM	Tologon Tegin, Semetei	2322	KGZ	35
9	76		Bivor, Adak	2099	WB	5		5	IM	Neelash, Saha	2456	RSPB	16
10	49		Sharnarthi, Viresh	2236	MH	4½		4½	GM	Pantsulaia Levan,	2551	GEO	3
11	4	GM	Karthik, Venkataraman	2550	AP	4½		4½	FM	Aarav, Sinha	2255	DL	46
12	14		Sriram, Adarsh Uppala	2460	TG	4½		4½		Gaikwad Manas,	2232	MH	50
13	18	GM	Sanikidze Tornike,	2425	GEO	4½		4½		Advik, Amit Agrawal	2218	MH	52
14	53		Alok, Sinha	2207	DL	4½		4½	GM	Deepan, Chakkravarthy J.	2410	TN	19
15	20	IM	Davtyan, Arsen	2402	ARM	4½		4½		Ahaz E U,	2178	KL	58

Details

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