8th Salamanca Chess Festival 2025 R5-7: Pranav and Ponomariov keep winning
The reigning World Junior 2025 champion, GM Pranav Venkatesh increased his winning streak to five games at 8th Salamanca Chess Festival 2025. Pranav defeated GM Julio E Granda Zuniga (PER), IM Sara Khadem (ESP) and the only player whom he was yet to beat at this event - IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (ESP). His sole pursuer - former World Champion, GM Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) also won all three of his games. Pranav is currently at 6.5/7, followed by Ponomariov at 6/7. They will clash in the eighth round. The last three rounds will be played today. Round 8 starts at 4 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Universidad de Salamanca. Comunicación Alumni - USAL
Pranav wins five in-a-row
The tournament is organized by Universidad de Salamanca at Centro Internacional del Español - Edificio Banco de España (Salamanca), the 'Cradle of Modern Chess' in Salamanca, Spain.
Round 5: Pranav - Julio: 1-0
GM Pranav Venkatesh (2563) started the day with a win over the Latin America legend, GM Julio E Granda Zuniga (PER, 2609).
Round 6: Sara - Pranav: 0-1
IM Sara Khadem (ESP, 2359) lost the rematch against GM Pranav Venkatesh (2563). This time Pranav delivered the checkmate with two knights.
Round 7: Pranav- Sabrina: 1-0
The only player in the field, GM Pranav Venkatesh (2563) yet to defeat was IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (ESP, 2225). That he managed to do in the seventh round in a grueling major piece endgame.
Replay live stream
Format
The tournament will be held in a six-player double round-robin format. The time control will be 30 minutes + 5 seconds increment and it will be rapid rating event.
Schedule
Round 1-3 will be played on 22nd October at 4 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. IST. On Thursday 23rd October, there will be only one game. Round 4 will take place at 12:30 p.m. local time, 4 p.m. IST. Round 5-7 will take place on 25th October at 4 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. IST. Round 8-10 will be held on 26th October at 4 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. IST.
Replay Round 5-7 games
Round 5-7 results
| Round 5 on 2025/10/24 at 16:00 | |||||||||||
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2641 | GM | Pranav, V | 1 - 0 | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | 2624 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 2444 | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | ½ - ½ | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | 2332 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 2362 | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | 0 - 1 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | 2635 | 1 | ||
| Round 6 on 2025/10/24 at 17:30 | |||||||||||
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | |||
| 1 | 6 | 2624 | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | 0 - 1 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | 2635 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2362 | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | 0 - 1 | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | 2332 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 2444 | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | 0 - 1 | GM | Pranav, V | 2641 | 3 | ||
| Round 7 on 2025/10/24 at 19:00 | |||||||||||
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | |||
| 1 | 4 | 2444 | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | ½ - ½ | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | 2624 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 2641 | GM | Pranav, V | 1 - 0 | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | 2362 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 2332 | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | 0 - 1 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | 2635 | 1 | ||
Standings after Round 7
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | GM | Pranav, V | IND | 2641 | 6,5 | 0 | 6 | 18,00 |
| 2 | 1 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | UKR | 2635 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 13,00 |
| 3 | 4 | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | ESP | 2444 | 3 | 0,5 | 2 | 4,75 |
| 4 | 2 | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | BUL | 2332 | 3 | 0,5 | 2 | 4,50 |
| 5 | 6 | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | PER | 2624 | 1,5 | 0 | 1 | 2,50 |
| 6 | 5 | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | ESP | 2362 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4,75 |
Round 8-10 pairings
| Round 8 on 2025/10/25 at 16:00 | |||||||||||
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 2624 | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | 2332 | 2 | |||
| 2 | 1 | 2635 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | GM | Pranav, V | 2641 | 3 | |||
| 3 | 5 | 2362 | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | 2444 | 4 | |||
| Round 9 on 2025/10/25 at 17:30 | |||||||||||
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | |||
| 1 | 5 | 2362 | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | 2624 | 6 | |||
| 2 | 4 | 2444 | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | 2635 | 1 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 2641 | GM | Pranav, V | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | 2332 | 2 | |||
| Round 10 on 2025/10/25 at 19:00 | |||||||||||
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | |||
| 1 | 6 | 2624 | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | GM | Pranav, V | 2641 | 3 | |||
| 2 | 2 | 2332 | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | 2444 | 4 | |||
| 3 | 1 | 2635 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | 2362 | 5 | |||
Links
Salamanca Chess: Official site, fb page, twitter and instagram
Festival Internacional de Ajedrez Salamanca: twitter and instagram
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