Pranav clinches the tournament with a round to spare and eight-game winning streak
"Good evening to all. This is my first time here in Salamanca. It has been a really good tournament for me and also the place. It's a very historical place. I really like the city and I hope to be back next year." - GM Pranav Venkatesh shared a short and sweet message at the closing ceremony. The tournament was organized by Universidad de Salamanca at Centro Internacional del Español - Edificio Banco de España (Salamanca), the 'Cradle of Modern Chess' in Salamanca, Spain.
Round 8: Ponomariov - Pranav: 0-1
Just like the first game, the former World Champion, GM Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR, 2635) misplayed in an advantageous position and tables turned in favor of GM Pranav Venkatesh (2563).
32.Rdc1 would have given White the upper hand. Instead, 32.Qa3? d4 33.Bxa8 d3 34.Rxd3 Rxd3 gave Black the decisive advantage and he went on to win the game.
Round 9: Pranav - Nadya: 1-0
GM Pranav Venkatesh (2563) won the rematch against WGM Nadya Toncheva (BUL, 2257) comfortably. This win made him the champion of the event with a round to spare.
Round 10: Julio - Pranav: 0-1
Any result in the last round would have made GM Pranav Venkatesh (2563) a clear champion, still he went on to win against GM Julio E Granda Zuniga (PER, 2624).
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 took place 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 was only one game. Round 4 will take place at 12:30 p.m. local time, 4 p.m. IST. Round 5-7 occurred 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 were 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 8-10 games
Round 8-10 results
| 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 | 0 - 1 | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | 2332 | 2 | PGN | |
| 2 | 1 | 2635 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | 0 - 1 | GM | Pranav, V | 2641 | 3 | PGN | |
| 3 | 5 | 2362 | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | ½ - ½ | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | 2444 | 4 | PGN | |
| 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 | 0 - 1 | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | 2624 | 6 | PGN | |
| 2 | 4 | 2444 | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | 0 - 1 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | 2635 | 1 | PGN | |
| 3 | 3 | 2641 | GM | Pranav, V | 1 - 0 | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | 2332 | 2 | PGN | |
| 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 | 0 - 1 | GM | Pranav, V | 2641 | 3 | PGN | |
| 2 | 2 | 2332 | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | 1 - 0 | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | 2444 | 4 | PGN | |
| 3 | 1 | 2635 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | 1 - 0 | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | 2362 | 5 | PGN | |
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | GM | Pranav, V | IND | 2641 | 9,5 | 0 | 9 | 40,25 |
| 2 | 1 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | UKR | 2635 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 25,00 |
| 3 | 2 | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | BUL | 2332 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 12,50 |
| 4 | 4 | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | ESP | 2444 | 3,5 | 0 | 2 | 8,50 |
| 5 | 6 | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | PER | 2624 | 2,5 | 0 | 2 | 4,75 |
| 6 | 5 | IM | Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina | ESP | 2362 | 1,5 | 0 | 0 | 9,00 |
Links
Salamanca Chess: Official site, fb page, twitter and instagram
Festival Internacional de Ajedrez Salamanca: twitter and instagram
