Anton Sitnikov triumphs at 19th Tamil Nadu IM-norm Closed Circuit 2024, Avinash Ramesh second
IM Anton Sitnikov (UKR) scored an unbeaten 7/9 to win 19th Tamil Nadu IM-norm Closed Circuit Chess Tournament 2024. Anton finished a full point ahead of the competition. IM Avinash Ramesh scored 6/9 to secure second place. IM David Gochelashvili and IM Kushagra Mohan scored 5.5/9 each. They were placed third and fourth according to tie-breaks. This is Anton's third triumph in seven appearances he has made in this circuit so far. The six-day ten-player round-robin tournament was organized by Tamil Nadu Chess Association at Hotel Fortune Park in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu from 20th to 25th February 2024. Tournament Coordinator - IA R Srivatsan writes the tournament report. Photos: IA R Srivatsan
Anton's third triumph in the circuit
Anton Sitnikov (UKR), displayed an unbeaten performance with 7 points from 9 rounds to win his third title in his seventh appearance at the TN IM-norm tournaments.
In the final round, Anton and Avinash were tied on 6 points. Anton surprised Avinash by an early exchange of queens and foregoing castling. The players reached a bishop and pawns ending after 22 moves. Anton grinded in another 39 moves.
Mr. K P K Selvaraj, Industrialist and President of Tirupur District Chess Association, seen above, inaugurating the event. He is always known for his social services. He is the founder of K P K National Matriculation School and Tirupur Sri Kamatchi Amman Matriculation School. This IM-norm event was conducted at this hotel, because of his support. According to the feedback of the players and officials, this is the best event among all the IM-norm tournaments conducted. His support for chess activities in Tirupur is worth mentioning.
Ajay - Anton, Round 6
Anton played an interesting exchange sacrifice 20...Nd2! 21.Bxa8 Rxa8 22.Ra1 Bxe2. He outplayed Ajay in the resultant double rook and minor piece ending.
Avinash - Pushkar, Round 3
16...e5 seems to be an interesting break, but does it work? Try to find out.
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About Tirupur
Tiruppur is located on the banks of the Noyyal river. The famous freedom fighter Tirupur Kumaran was from This district. Post Indian Independence in 1947, Tiruppur was part of Coimbatore district. It was established as the capital of the newly formed Tiruppur district in 2009. The town was predominantly an agricultural, but with the advent of textile boom in the 20th century and rapid industrialization has seen Tiruppur become a major textile and knitwear hub. As of 2021-22, Tiruppur exported garments worth 480 billion USD, contributing to nearly 54% of the all the textile exports from India.
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Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | IM | Sitnikov, Anton | UKR | 2362 | 7 | 0 | 29,50 | 5 |
| 2 | 4 | IM | Avinash, Ramesh | IND | 2238 | 6 | 0 | 23,75 | 4 |
| 3 | 7 | IM | Gochelashvili, David | RUS | 2225 | 5,5 | 1 | 22,75 | 4 |
| 4 | 2 | IM | Kushagra, Mohan | IND | 2360 | 5,5 | 0 | 22,25 | 3 |
| 5 | 9 | Dere, Pushkar | IND | 2223 | 5 | 0 | 19,25 | 3 | |
| 6 | 1 | Ajay, Santhosh Parvathareddy | IND | 2148 | 4,5 | 0 | 15,25 | 3 | |
| 7 | 3 | FM | Sekar, B | IND | 2263 | 3 | 1 | 13,00 | 0 |
| 8 | 5 | IM | Touzane, Olivier | FRA | 2084 | 3 | 1 | 12,50 | 1 |
| 9 | 8 | IM | Buscara, Sevan | FRA | 2256 | 3 | 1 | 11,50 | 1 |
| 10 | 10 | Lokesh, N. | IND | 2217 | 2,5 | 0 | 11,25 | 0 |
About the Author
R Srivatsan is a Category A level International Arbiter, Member of Arbiter Commission in both All India Chess Federation and Tamil Nadu State Chess Association. He was also the Tournament Coordinator for the 19th Tamil Nadu IM-norm Closed Circuit Chess Tournament 2024.
The report was edited by Shahid Ahmed
