KCA 1st GM R5-6: Aakash and Balkishan best Karthikeyan and Tornike
GM Levan Pantsulaia (GEO), GM Karen H Grigoryan (ARM) and GM Marat Dzhumaev (UZB) are the three leaders 5.5/6 at KCA's God's Own Country's 1st GM 2025. WIM Diajeng Theresa Singgih's (INA) winning streak came to an end as she lost both of her games against Levan and GM Karen Movsziszian (ARM). One of the leaders after fourth round, IM Rajesh Vav had a tough day. He lost to Karen and then drew the following game. FM Aakash G had a great day as he defeated GM P Karthikeyan and drew with GM Van Huy Nguyen (VIE). Balkishan A drew with GM Deepan Chakkravarthy before finishing the day with a win over GM Tornike Sanikidze (GEO). Both Aakash and Balkishan are at 5/6 each with IM Mehar Chinna Reddy C H. These three are currently the top Indian performers after Round 6. Round 7 starts today at 10 a.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed
Pantsulaia, Grigoryan and Dzhumaev in a three-way lead
Top seed GM Karen H Grigoryan (ARM) and GM Levan Pantsulaia (GEO) jointly share the lead with a full score of five points, at the end of the fifth round of the KCA’s 1st International Chess Festival – Category A Tournament, organised by Kottayam Chess Academy. Four players – FM Aakash G of Tamil Nadu, GM Marat Dzhumaev (UZB), GM Boris Savchenko and GM Van Huy Nguyen (VIE) are trailing with 4.5 points each.
Round 5: Aakash wins a back and forth battle against P Karthikeyan
IM Rajesh Vav (2324) played well against the top seed of the tournament, GM Karen H Grigoryan (ARM, 2530). The game reached a relatively balanced rook and knight endgame where the defender needed to play carefully.
White needed to prioritize stopping the passed a-pawn 48.Nd4 Rc3 49.Kh2 could have been played. 48.g4? Nd5 49.Ra7?? just gave Black the decisive advantage Nb4-+ 50.Nxg7 Nc6 51.Rc7 a2 52.Nf5+ Kh8 and Black won.
Aakash - P Karthikeyan
21.Ne4! is an excellent move by the reigning Tamil Nadu State Champion, FM Aakash G (2114). The a1-rook is laced with poison. Before capturing it, Black needed to get rid of the e4-knight first 21...Rxe4 22.Qxe4 Qxa1+ is the way. 21...Qxa1+? 22.Ke2 Ke7 23.Qg5+ now Kd7 and Black is fine. However, 23...f6?? was the final mistake 24.Qf5 Qb2+ 25.Kf3 white king is safe here. 25...Bb8 26.Nxf6!! and it's over. A fantastic finish by Aakash.
Round 6: Coleaders Karen and Levan split the point
GM Marat Dzhumaev (UZB) thwarted GM Boris Savchenko's attack on the kingside.
Tornike - Balkishan
GM Tornike Sanikidze (GEO, 2441) blundered 52.Rb4+?? Balkishan A (2145) forced rook trade 52...Rc4 53.Rxc4+ dxc4 and the newly created passed c-pawn played a pivotal role in Balkishan earning a victory.
A total of 234 players including 16 GMs, 12 IMs and a WIM are taking part from 13 countries across the world. The eight-day ten round GM tournament is being organized by Kottayam Chess Academy from 30th April to 7th May 2025 at The Courtyard Banquet Hall Kanjikuzhi in Kottayam, Kerala. The time control of the event is 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.
Replay Round 5-6 games
Round 6 results
| Bo. | No. | White | Typ | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Typ | Rtg | Club/City | No. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | GM | Grigoryan, Karen H. | 2556 | ARM | 5 | ½ - ½ | 5 | GM | Pantsulaia, Levan | 2532 | GEO | 3 | ||||
| 2 | 13 | GM | Dzhumaev, Marat | 2352 | UZB | 4½ | 1 - 0 | 4½ | GM | Savchenko, Boris | 2459 | RUS | 4 | ||||
| 3 | 11 | GM | Nguyen, Van Huy | 2363 | VIE | 4½ | ½ - ½ | 4½ | FM | Aakash, G | 2100 | TN | 30 | ||||
| 4 | 18 | GM | Podolchenko, Evgeniy | 2307 | BLR | 4 | ½ - ½ | 4 | GM | Petrosyan, Manuel | 2544 | ARM | 2 | ||||
| 5 | 5 | GM | Sanikidze, Tornike | 2448 | GEO | 4 | 0 - 1 | 4 | Balkishan, A. | 2134 | KAR | 26 | |||||
| 6 | 6 | IM | Mehar, Chinna Reddy C.H. | 2418 | SCR | 4 | 1 - 0 | 4 | Ahaz, E U | 2191 | KER | 24 | |||||
| 7 | 7 | GM | Movsziszian, Karen | 2417 | ARM | 4 | 1 - 0 | 4 | WIM | Singgih, Diajeng Theresa | 1931 | INA | 64 | ||||
| 8 | 21 | GM | Teterev, Vitaly | 2266 | BLR | 4 | ½ - ½ | 4 | GM | Fedorov, Alexei | 2396 | BLR | 8 | ||||
| 9 | 9 | GM | Deepan, Chakkravarthy J. | 2394 | ICF | 4 | ½ - ½ | 4 | Krishay, Jain | 1891 | WB | 79 | |||||
| 10 | 22 | IM | Gochelashvili, David | 2227 | RUS | 4 | ½ - ½ | 4 | IM | Schekachikhin, Maksim | 2370 | FIDE | 10 | ||||
| 11 | 27 | IM | Sangma, Rahul | 2121 | Rlys | 4 | 0 - 1 | 4 | IM | Tologon Tegin, Semetei | 2358 | KGZ | 12 | ||||
| 12 | 41 | Abhishek, T M | 2044 | KER | 4 | ½ - ½ | 4 | IM | Rajesh, V A V | 2331 | SCR | 15 | |||||
| 13 | 14 | IM | Nitin, S. | 2331 | TN | 3½ | 1 - 0 | 4 | Sathyachith, E M | 1801 | KER | 120 | |||||
| 14 | 50 | CM | Chinmay, Kowshik | 2011 | KAR | 3½ | 0 - 1 | 3½ | FM | Sanz Wawer, Daniel | 2316 | ESP | 16 | ||||
| 15 | 17 | GM | Karthikeyan, P. | 2312 | ICF | 3½ | 1 - 0 | 3½ | Kolla, Bhaavan | 2032 | AP | 47 |
Standings after Round 6
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | Rp | n | w | we | w-we | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | GM | Pantsulaia, Levan | GEO | 2532 | GEO | 5,5 | 25 | 2487 | 6 | 5,5 | 4,97 | 0,53 | 10 | 5,3 | ||
| 2 | 1 | GM | Grigoryan, Karen H. | ARM | 2556 | ARM | 5,5 | 23 | 2554 | 6 | 5,5 | 4,91 | 0,59 | 10 | 5,9 | ||
| 3 | 13 | GM | Dzhumaev, Marat | UZB | 2352 | UZB | 5,5 | 22,5 | 2448 | 6 | 5,5 | 4,71 | 0,79 | 10 | 7,9 | ||
| 4 | 11 | GM | Nguyen, Van Huy | VIE | 2363 | VIE | 5 | 25 | 2278 | 6 | 5 | 5,13 | -0,13 | 10 | -1,3 | ||
| 5 | 7 | GM | Movsziszian, Karen | ARM | 2417 | ARM | 5 | 22,5 | 2233 | 6 | 5 | 5,39 | -0,39 | 10 | -3,9 | ||
| 6 | 30 | FM | Aakash, G | IND | 2100 | TN | 5 | 22 | 2260 | 6 | 5 | 3,77 | 1,23 | 20 | 24,6 | ||
| 7 | 26 | Balkishan, A. | IND | 2134 | KAR | 5 | 21 | 2319 | 6 | 5 | 3,63 | 1,37 | 20 | 27,4 | |||
| 8 | 12 | IM | Tologon Tegin, Semetei | KGZ | 2358 | KGZ | 5 | 20,5 | 2152 | 6 | 5 | 5,38 | -0,38 | 10 | -3,8 | ||
| 9 | 6 | IM | Mehar, Chinna Reddy C.H. | IND | 2418 | SCR | 5 | 19,5 | 2216 | 6 | 5 | 5,35 | -0,35 | 10 | -3,5 | ||
| 10 | 9 | GM | Deepan, Chakkravarthy J. | IND | 2394 | ICF | 4,5 | 23,5 | 2173 | 6 | 4,5 | 5,28 | -0,78 | 10 | -7,8 | ||
| 11 | 25 | IM | Sharma, Dinesh K. | IND | 2164 | UP | 4,5 | 23,5 | 2198 | 6 | 4,5 | 3,95 | 0,55 | 10 | 5,5 | ||
| 12 | 28 | Majumder, Shrayan | IND | 2110 | MAH | 4,5 | 23,5 | 2191 | 6 | 4,5 | 3,76 | 0,74 | 20 | 14,8 | |||
| 13 | 4 | GM | Savchenko, Boris | RUS | 2459 | RUS | 4,5 | 23 | 2187 | 6 | 4,5 | 5,24 | -0,74 | 10 | -7,4 | ||
| 14 | 22 | IM | Gochelashvili, David | RUS | 2227 | RUS | 4,5 | 23 | 2263 | 5 | 3,5 | 3,10 | 0,40 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 15 | 21 | GM | Teterev, Vitaly | BLR | 2266 | BLR | 4,5 | 22,5 | 2250 | 6 | 4,5 | 4,14 | 0,36 | 10 | 3,6 |
Round 7 pairings
| Bo. | No. | White | Typ | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Typ | Rtg | Club/City | No. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | GM | Pantsulaia, Levan | 2532 | GEO | 5½ | 5½ | GM | Dzhumaev, Marat | 2352 | UZB | 13 | |||||
| 2 | 12 | IM | Tologon Tegin, Semetei | 2358 | KGZ | 5 | 5½ | GM | Grigoryan, Karen H. | 2556 | ARM | 1 | |||||
| 3 | 26 | Balkishan, A. | 2134 | KAR | 5 | 5 | IM | Mehar, Chinna Reddy C.H. | 2418 | SCR | 6 | ||||||
| 4 | 30 | FM | Aakash, G | 2100 | TN | 5 | 5 | GM | Movsziszian, Karen | 2417 | ARM | 7 | |||||
| 5 | 2 | GM | Petrosyan, Manuel | 2544 | ARM | 4½ | 5 | GM | Nguyen, Van Huy | 2363 | VIE | 11 | |||||
| 6 | 4 | GM | Savchenko, Boris | 2459 | RUS | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Laxman, R.R. | 2290 | ICF | 19 | |||||
| 7 | 8 | GM | Fedorov, Alexei | 2396 | BLR | 4½ | 4½ | IM | Gochelashvili, David | 2227 | RUS | 22 | |||||
| 8 | 9 | GM | Deepan, Chakkravarthy J. | 2394 | ICF | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Teterev, Vitaly | 2266 | BLR | 21 | |||||
| 9 | 10 | IM | Schekachikhin, Maksim | 2370 | FIDE | 4½ | 4½ | IM | Sharma, Dinesh K. | 2164 | UP | 25 | |||||
| 10 | 28 | Majumder, Shrayan | 2110 | MAH | 4½ | 4½ | IM | Nitin, S. | 2331 | TN | 14 | ||||||
| 11 | 15 | IM | Rajesh, V A V | 2331 | SCR | 4½ | 4½ | FM | Matta, Vinay Kumar | 2054 | UBI | 37 | |||||
| 12 | 16 | FM | Sanz Wawer, Daniel | 2316 | ESP | 4½ | 4½ | Abhishek, T M | 2044 | KER | 41 | ||||||
| 13 | 67 | Afreed, T Khan | 1921 | AP | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Karthikeyan, P. | 2312 | ICF | 17 | ||||||
| 14 | 79 | Krishay, Jain | 1891 | WB | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Podolchenko, Evgeniy | 2307 | BLR | 18 | ||||||
| 15 | 61 | Gowrishankar, Jayaraj | 1943 | KER | 4 | 4 | GM | Sanikidze, Tornike | 2448 | GEO | 5 |
About the Author
Prof. Rathinam Anantharam is an A-grade international arbiter. Member of FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, Chairman of Titles Commission in All India Chess Federation, Vice President of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, Chief Arbiter for six world championships, many Asian, International and National Championships. Nominated as one of the top seven arbiters in the world for the past hundred years by FIDE.
The report was edited by Shahid Ahmed
