8th Sharjah Masters: Can Aditya Mittal stop Anish Giri?

by Shahid Ahmed - 25/05/2025

GM Anish Giri (NED) drew with GM Velimir Ivic (SRB) in just four moves in the penultimate round of 8th Sharjah Masters 2025. It allowed GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) to catch up with him 6/8. The World Rapid 2021 was determined to play for a win. It became evident when he sacrificed his knight for a couple of pawns in a double rook and double knight endgame. GM Aditya Mittal outplayed GM Alan Pichot (ESP) after the latter gave control of the center. Anish will face Aditya in the final round and GM M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) will be up against Abdusattorov. Round 9 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Himank Ghosh

Mayank Chakraborty on the verge of winning Group B, Shubham Shukla wins Group C with one round to go

IM Mayank Chakraborty defeated Yihan Meng (CHN) to maintain his sole lead 7/8 in Group B. Shubham Shukla won against Muhammad Shayan Noushad Ibrahim to clinch Group C with a round to spare. He scored eighth win in-a-row. IM Ilamparthi A R needs a draw against GM Changren Dai (CHN) to become India's latest GM.

GM Aditya Mittal has a great opportunity to spoil GM Anish Giri's (NED) chances of winning the tournament

GM Anish Giri (NED) drew in four moves with GM Velimir Ivic (SRB) | Video: ChessBase India

Abdusattorov - Salem

Position after 53.Nf2

53...Nxf2 54.Rxe6! the reason behind Nf2 was to sacrifice it for a few pawns and keep his chances Nxg4 55.Nxd5 Rcc8 56.Rxf5 Rcf8 57.Rxf8 Nxf8 58.Rd6 Rg7?? 59.Rd8+- and GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2771) went on to win the game and rejoin the lead with GM Anish Giri (NED).

GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) scored a fine victory over GM Salem Saleh (UAE) to rejoin the lead with GM Anish Giri (NED) 6/8

Aditya Mittal - Pichot: 1-0

GM Aditya Mittal (2547) played two Classical rated games against GM Alan Pichot (ESP, 2587). Both of them ended in draws, the first one was at the very same event over six years ago. Aditya got an early advantage in the middlegame when his opponent developed his bishop incorrectly.

Position after 11...Ba6?

11...Ba6? ignored the fact that White can completely lock the center and gain space advantage too 12.d5 Na5 13.d6 Qc8? 14.Qe2 Qc6 15.h4 and White went on to win the game.

GM Aditya Mittal scored an emphatic victory over GM Alan Pichot (ESP)

Ceremonial first move of Round 8

Yihan - Mayank

Position after 22.Rxg7+

22.Rxg7+ is an ambitious sacrifice by Yihan Meng (CHN, 2443) which actually does not work because White does not have enough material to support the queen. It is nothing but a scare tactc. IM Mayank Chakraborty (2436) played the only move 22...Kxg7 23.Qe7+ Kg6 24.Bxe4+ Nxe4 25.Ke2 Rag8 26.f5+ Kh5! and Black went on to win the game.

Group B: IM Mayank Chakraborty defeated Yihan Meng (CHN) to maintain his sole lead 7/8

Group C: Shubham Shukla defeated Muhammad Shayan Noushad Ibrahim to win the tournament 8/8 with a round to spare| Photo: Sharjah Chess Club

For more Round 8 photos, please click here.

Replay the Live stream

Replay Sharjah Masters Round 8 live commentary by GM Toms Kantans (LAT) and WIM Raluca Sgircea (ROU) | Video: Lichess

Replay Round 8 Masters A games

Replay Round 8 Masters B games

Round 8 Masters A results

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	13	GM	Ivic, Velimir	2630	5	½ - ½	5½	GM	Giri, Anish	2738	2
2	8	GM	Indjic, Aleksandar	2637	5	½ - ½	5	GM	Sargsyan, Shant	2666	6
3	24	GM	Kozak, Adam	2578	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Sevian, Samuel	2694	4
4	5	GM	Tabatabaei, M. Amin	2670	4½	1 - 0	4½	GM	Visakh, N R	2507	63
5	1	GM	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	2771	5	1 - 0	5	GM	Salem, A.R. Saleh *)	2631	11
6	39	GM	Pranav, Anand	2555	4½	0 - 1	4½	GM	Daneshvar, Bardiya	2621	16
7	17	GM	Theodorou, Nikolas	2611	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Vetokhin, Savva	2558	36
8	69	IM	Mamedov, Edgar	2492	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Muradli, Mahammad	2603	18
9	21	GM	Paravyan, David	2596	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Amar, Elham	2569	29
10	15	GM	Xu, Xiangyu	2623	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Dai, Changren	2531	52
11	45	GM	Woodward, Andy	2547	4	1 - 0	4	GM	Azarov, Sergei	2596	20
12	44	GM	Aditya, Mittal *)	2547	4½	1 - 0	4½	GM	Pichot, Alan	2587	22
13	27	GM	Bai, Jinshi	2572	4	½ - ½	4	IM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	2494	66
14	43	GM	Jumabayev, Rinat	2551	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Samunenkov, Ihor	2572	28
15	33	GM	Akobian, Varuzhan	2564	4	0 - 1	4	GM	Siddharth, Jagadeesh	2472	76

Details

Standings after Round 8

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	2	GM	Giri, Anish	NED	2738	6	0,5	35,5	31
2	1	GM	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	UZB	2771	6	0,5	33,5	29,5
3	44	GM	Aditya, Mittal	IND	2547	5,5	0	34,5	30,5
4	13	GM	Ivic, Velimir	SRB	2630	5,5	0	33,5	30
5	6	GM	Sargsyan, Shant	ARM	2666	5,5	0	33,5	29,5
6	8	GM	Indjic, Aleksandar	SRB	2637	5,5	0	33	29,5
7	16	GM	Daneshvar, Bardiya	IRI	2621	5,5	0	31	27,5
8	5	GM	Tabatabaei, M. Amin	IRI	2670	5,5	0	30,5	27,5
9	24	GM	Kozak, Adam	HUN	2578	5	0	35	31
10	36	GM	Vetokhin, Savva	FID	2558	5	0	34,5	30,5
11	45	GM	Woodward, Andy	USA	2547	5	0	34	30
12	34	GM	Zemlyanskii, Ivan	RUS	2563	5	0	33	30,5
13	29	GM	Amar, Elham	NOR	2569	5	0	33	29
14	4	GM	Sevian, Samuel	USA	2694	5	0	32	28
15	11	GM	Salem, A.R. Saleh	UAE	2631	5	0	31,5	28,5

Details

Round 9 pairings

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	5	GM	Tabatabaei, M. Amin	2670	5½		6	GM	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	2771	1
2	6	GM	Sargsyan, Shant	2666	5½		5½	GM	Ivic, Velimir	2630	13
3	16	GM	Daneshvar, Bardiya	2621	5½		5½	GM	Indjic, Aleksandar	2637	8
4	4	GM	Sevian, Samuel	2694	5		5	GM	Gavrilescu, David	2554	41
5	11	GM	Salem, A.R. Saleh *)	2631	5		5	GM	Woodward, Andy	2547	45
6	34	GM	Zemlyanskii, Ivan	2563	5		5	GM	Theodorou, Nikolas	2611	17
7	18	GM	Muradli, Mahammad	2603	5		5	GM	Kozak, Adam	2578	24
8	36	GM	Vetokhin, Savva	2558	5		5	GM	Paravyan, David	2596	21
9	29	GM	Amar, Elham	2569	5		5	IM	Mamedov, Edgar	2492	69
10	76	GM	Siddharth, Jagadeesh	2472	5		4½	GM	Pichot, Alan	2587	22
11	28	GM	Samunenkov, Ihor	2572	4½		4½	GM	Pranav, Anand	2555	39
12	2	GM	Giri, Anish	2738	6		5½	GM	Aditya, Mittal *)	2547	44
13	63	GM	Visakh, N R	2507	4½		4½	GM	Karthik, Venkataraman	2565	31
14	66	IM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	2494	4½		4½	GM	Jumabayev, Rinat	2551	43
15	52	GM	Dai, Changren	2531	4½		4½	IM	Ilamparthi, A R	2469	79

Details

Round 8 Masters B results

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	7		Meng, Yihan	2443	5½	0 - 1	6	IM	Mayank, Chakraborty	2436	10
2	21	IM	Poormosavi, Seyed Kian	2379	5½	0 - 1	5½	IM	Mahdavi, Reza	2445	6
3	11	GM	Burmakin, Vladimir	2435	5½	1 - 0	5½		Plotnikov, Boris	2056	88
4	13	IM	Tarigan, Gilbert Elroy	2415	5½	½ - ½	5½		Zhang, Di	2410	14
5	23	FM	Zia, Tahsin Tajwar	2374	5½	0 - 1	5	GM	Prraneeth, Vuppala	2474	2
6	35	WIM	Mkrtchyan, Mariam	2292	5	0 - 1	5	IM	Wang, Shixu B	2462	4
7	39	FM	Sharipov, Davron	2269	5	0 - 1	5	IM	Harshavardhan, G B	2441	8
8	9		Jiang, Haochen	2439	5	½ - ½	5	IM	Raahul, V S	2378	22
9	97		Jagreet, Misra	1999	3	0 - 1	3	GM	Ahmad, Al Khatib *)	2283	36
10	37	CM	Davudov, Tunar	2279	5	½ - ½	5	WGM	Beydullayeva, Govhar	2394	18

Details

Standings after Round 8

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB2	TB3
1	10	IM	Mayank, Chakraborty	IND	2436	7	38,5	34
2	6	IM	Mahdavi, Reza	IRI	2445	6,5	38,5	34
3	11	GM	Burmakin, Vladimir	RUS	2435	6,5	36	32
4	14		Zhang, Di	CHN	2410	6	38,5	35
5	4	IM	Wang, Shixu B	CHN	2462	6	37,5	32,5
6	13	IM	Tarigan, Gilbert Elroy	INA	2415	6	35,5	31,5
7	2	GM	Prraneeth, Vuppala	IND	2474	6	35,5	31
8	8	IM	Harshavardhan, G B	IND	2441	6	35,5	31
9	25	IM	Schekachikhin, Maksim	FID	2364	5,5	40	36
10	7		Meng, Yihan	CHN	2443	5,5	37,5	33,5

Details

Round 9 pairings

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	10	IM	Mayank, Chakraborty	2436	7		6½	GM	Burmakin, Vladimir	2435	11
2	6	IM	Mahdavi, Reza	2445	6½		6	IM	Harshavardhan, G B	2441	8
3	2	GM	Prraneeth, Vuppala	2474	6		6	IM	Tarigan, Gilbert Elroy	2415	13
4	4	IM	Wang, Shixu B	2462	6		6		Zhang, Di	2410	14
5	25	IM	Schekachikhin, Maksim	2364	5½		5½	GM	Levin, Evgeny A.	2453	5
6	88		Plotnikov, Boris	2056	5½		5½		Meng, Yihan	2443	7
7	28	FM	Bharadia, Yash	2355	5½		5½		Jiang, Haochen	2439	9
8	18	WGM	Beydullayeva, Govhar	2394	5½		5½	FM	Zia, Tahsin Tajwar	2374	23
9	36	GM	Ahmad, Al Khatib *)	2283	4		4	AFM	Vismay, Sachar	2002	96
10	20	IM	Liyanage, Ranindu Dilshan	2387	5½		5½	CM	Davudov, Tunar	2279	37

Details

Round 8 Masters C results

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	11	AGM	Shubham, Shukla	1823	7	1 - 0	5½	AIM	Muhammad, Shayan Noushad Ibrahim	1860	4
2	16		Al Balushi, Emad	1792	6	½ - ½	5½		Nookala, Nikhil Sriram	1737	30
3	5		Kirthika, B	1860	5½	0 - 1	5½		Naziraliev, Kilichbek	1731	35
4	9		Al Namas, Kanan	1841	5½	0 - 1	5		Mammadzada, Mammad	1856	6
5	1	AIM	Buirzayqah, Mohammed	1889	5	½ - ½	5		Alajaji, Mshari Fahad	1788	18

Details

Standings after Round 8

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5
1	11	AGM	Shubham, Shukla	IND	1823	8	38	34	4	2541
2	35		Naziraliev, Kilichbek	UZB	1731	6,5	39	35	4	2043
3	16		Al Balushi, Emad	OMA	1792	6,5	38,5	34,5	4	1975
4	27		Abdalla, Mansoor Abdalla	SUD	1756	6	36,5	32,5	3	1917
5	30		Nookala, Nikhil Sriram	IND	1737	6	34	30	2	1941

Details

Round 9 pairings

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	49	AIM	Obado, Sean Adrich	1674	6		8	AGM	Shubham, Shukla	1823	11
2	35		Naziraliev, Kilichbek	1731	6½		6½		Al Balushi, Emad	1792	16
3	6		Mammadzada, Mammad	1856	6		6		Hamdan Edrees, Alhamed	1807	15
4	30		Nookala, Nikhil Sriram	1737	6		6		Yeshwant, Saravanan	1812	13
5	1	AIM	Buirzayqah, Mohammed	1889	5½		6		Abdalla, Mansoor Abdalla	1756	27

Details

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations

Related news:

	8th Sharjah Masters R7: Anish Giri gains sole lead @ 24/05/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	8th Sharjah Masters B R6: Mayank Chakraborty emerges sole leader @ 23/05/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	8th Sharjah Masters R5: Iniyan and Aditya Mittal score @ 22/05/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	8th Sharjah Masters R4: Anish Giri and Aleksandar Indjic emerge coleaders @ 21/05/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	8th Sharjah Masters R3: Visakh draws with Indjic, stays in the lead @ 20/05/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	8th Sharjah Masters R2: Visakh N R wins two in-a-row @ 19/05/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	8th Sharjah Masters R1: Nodirbek Abdusattorov survives a scare against Sethuraman @ 18/05/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Sharjah Masters 8th edition starts from 16th May 2025 @ 24/01/2025 by Rasika Ratnaparkhi (en)