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Serbia Open R6-7: Nihal and Kovalenko emerge as the leaders 6.0/7

by Shahid Ahmed - 07/07/2021

Nihal Sarin is aiming to score his second consecutive tournament victory and gain maximum momentum before starting his World Cup campaign. GM Igor Kovalenko (LAT) and Nihal are the only two players in the lead 6.0/7 at the conclusion of Round 7 at Serbia Open 2021. They will inevitably face each other in the penultimate round of the event. Kovalenko defeated Arjun in the seventh round. Pranav V and IM Aditya Mittal are just a half point behind the leaders at 5.5/7 each respectively. Both of them are poised for a strong finish and in a quest for their maiden GM-norm. Round 8 starts today at 8:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Rupali Mullick

Pranav and Aditya in pursuit

Nihal Sarin and Igor Kovalenko won both of their respective round 6 and 7 games to share the lead 6.0/7. They will now face each other in the penultimate round. Pranav Vijay remains the only untitled player among the top 50 boards. He drew with Fier and Suleymanli to climb to 5.5/7, a half point behind the leaders. IM Aditya Mittal is the only other Indian with 5.5/7 among the 15-players who are in pursuit. He scored two impressive victories against GM Velimir Ivic and GM Branko Damljanovic.

Nihal Sarin gained the lead | Photo: Rupali Mullick

R6: Nihal - Iskandarov: 1-0

Nihal outplayed his opponent GM Misratdin Iskandarov (AZE) with a fantastic positional play in the endgame.

Position after 25.Nb5

25.Nb5 makes sure d6-pawn falls and then Nihal beautifully maneuvered his knight and converted his extra pawn advantage into a win.

Nihal scored a nice technical win against Iskandarov | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Bharath - Postny: 0.5-0.5

IM Bharath Subramaniyam H held GM Evgeny Postny (ISR) to a draw.

Bharath Subramaniyam H is having a good tournament | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Fier - Pranav: 0.5-0.5

Pranav held Brazil no.1 GM Alexander Fier to a draw.

Pranav continues his fantastic form | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Lazov - Arjun: 0-1

IM Toni Lazov (MKD) made an ambitious which backfired terribly.

Position after 13.f4

13.f4 break actually weakens White's own king instead of launching a successful attack on Black king. Find out the best continuation for Black. The position eventually liquidated into a rook and few pawns endgame where Black had two extra pawns, thus White resigned.

Toni tried to do too much too soon | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Raunak - Agibileg: 0-1

Raunak Sadhwani lost to IM Uurtsaikh Agibileg after the former played a bit passive.

Position after 36...Bd4

White played 37.Nd1 which made things difficult. Instead, White should have taken on d4 immediately 37.Nxd4. Eventually, White lost an exchange and Black converted it into a win.

Raunak suffered a tough loss | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Aditya - Ivic: 1-0

IM Aditya Mittal scored a fine victory over GM Velimir Ivic (SRB).

Aditya Mittal showcased his endgame prowess against Velimir Ivic | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Abhimanyu - Boucquet: 1-0

Abhimanyu Puranik scored an academic victory against CM Emile Boucquet (BEL).

Position after 15...Nxd5

15...Nxd5 is a mistake as White gets to do a thematic attack. Find out the winning continuation for White.

Abhimanyu Puranik bounced back with a victory after suffering a loss | Photo: Rupali Mullick

R7: Arjun - Kovalenko: 0-1

Arjun Erigaisi played boldly against GM Igor Kovalenko (LAT) in the middlegame which completely exposed his king.

Position after 30.Ng3

White went wrong in the endgame when he played 30.Ng3. Instead, 30.Rxa4 is suggested by the computer to be the best continuation for White. It is certainly not easy to find in a practical game when the clock is ticking down.

Position after 42...Kh7

43.Qxc7 would have been a better try for White to prolong the fight instead of the text 43.Qb3 which allowed Black to regain control.

Arjun suffered his first loss of the event against Kovalenko | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Sanal - Nihal: 0-1

Nihal Sarin scored his second consecutive victory of the day, this time against GM Vahap Sanal (TUR).

Position after 21...Nd7

To understand Nihal's strength, you have to figure out the reason behind 21...Nd7, a backward move which is necessity in this position is something we do not often consider.

Position after 35.Rf3

It's time to deliver the finishing blow. Find out the winning continuation for Black in the above diagram.

Nihal Sarin is India no.5 with 2648 on Live Elo rating | Video: ChessBase India

Nihal scored a fantastic victory to jump into the lead | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Pranav - Suleymanli: 1-0

Pranav made a fantastic escape with his king and moved to the other side of the board to provide safety against IM Aydin Suleymanli's (AZE) attack.

Position after 39...Ra7

Pranav used both of his minor pieces to make a blockade and did not waste any move to prepare for his onslaught. It is time for White to capitalize on the advantage. Find out how.

Pranav V almost certain of his IM title | Video: Sagar Shah

Pranav scored another brilliant win | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Damljanovic - Aditya: 0-1

IM Aditya Mittal scored his second consecutive victory of the day. His seventh round victim was GM Branko Damljanovic (SRB).

Position after 21...h5

White has already sacrificed a bishop at b2, thus he needed to maintain the attack on the kingside and avoid further piece exchange. 22.Nxh5 is a mistake as Black happily takes it 22...Bxh5 23.Qxh5 Qd7 and there is nothing to worry anymore. Try to find out what was the better continuation for White in the above diagram. Aditya converted his material advantage into a victory comfortably.

Aditya Mittal closing in on his first GM norm | Video: ChessBase India

Aditya Mittal scored his fourth consecutive of the event, second against a Grandmaster | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Kuzubov - Bharath: 1-0

IM Bharath Subramaniyam's momentum got halted by GM Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR).

Position after 17.Rd3

Bharath got into trouble early in the middlegame as he lost a few tempi due to his queen getting attacked repeatedly like a pinball. Kuzubov liquidated into a queenside majority double rook endgame with an extra pawn. He converted his advantage into a win comfortably.

Bharath can still have a strong finish | Photo: Rupali Mullick

GM Evgeny Zanan (ISR) was held to a draw by IM Raja Rithvik R | Photo: Rupali Mullick

For more photos, click here.

Highlights

Here are a few interesting finishes from Round 6 and7

Final position - GM Andreas Diermas (AUT) lost to GM Eltaj Safarli (AZE), Round 6

Final position - GM Vugar Asadli (AZE) lost to IM Denis Makhnev (KAZ), Round 6

Final position - GM Nikola Sedlak (SRB) lost to FM Parviz Gasimov (AZE), Round 6

Final position - GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (NOR) vs IM Piotr Nguyen, Round 7

Replay Round 6-7 games

Round 6 results

Bo.No. NameFEDRtgPts.ResultPts.NameFEDRtg No.
16
GMPetrosyan ManuelARM2632½ - ½GMSanal VahapTUR2556
25
212
GMShevchenko KirillUKR2605½ - ½GMIndjic AleksandarSRB2607
9
347
IMKourkoulos-Arditis StamatisGRE24850 - 14GMFedoseev VladimirRUS2696
1
43
GMKovalenko IgorLAT264341 - 04GMBjerre Jonas BuhlDEN2546
28
54
GMTer-Sahakyan SamvelARM26434½ - ½4GMAleksandrov AleksejBLR2535
29
640
IMErenberg ArielISR250640 - 14GMHovhannisyan RobertARM2632
5
78
GMNihal SarinIND262041 - 04GMIskandarov MisratdinAZE2533
32
810
GMBernadskiy VitaliyUKR26064½ - ½4GMSadikhov UlviAZE2490
45
958
GMDiermair AndreasAUT245540 - 14GMSafarli EltajAZE2604
13
1072
IMBharath Subramaniyam HIND24264½ - ½4GMPostny EvgenyISR2578
17
1118
GMAsadli VugarAZE257440 - 14IMMakhnev DenisKAZ2480
49
1220
GMFier AlexandrBRA25694½ - ½4Pranav VIND2366
113
1382
IMLazov ToniMKD241240 - 14GMErigaisi ArjunIND2567
21
1424
IMSuleymanli AydinAZE25634½ - ½4IMOzenir Ekin BarisTUR2331
133
1526
GMSadhwani RaunakIND255540 - 14IMAgibileg UurtsaikhMGL2413
81
1688
IMAgmanov ZhandosKAZ240440 - 14GMBasso Pier LuigiITA2550
27
177
GMPichot AlanARG26300 - 1IMNikitenko MihailBLR2472
52
1814
GMMarkus RobertSRB2600½ - ½IMAhmadzada AhmadAZE2431
69
1964
IMAditya MittalIND24381 - 0GMIvic VelimirSRB2582
16
2030
GMWarmerdam MaxNED25351 - 0FMMaksimovic BojanBIH2418
78
2183
IMNguyen PiotrPOL2411½ - ½GMZanan EvgenyISR2535
31
2285
IMRaja Rithvik RIND2408½ - ½IMAnnaberdiev MeilisTKM2532
33
2334
IMNenezic MarkoSRB25311 - 0IMVardaan NagpalIND2366
111
2436
GMSedlak NikolaSRB25190 - 1FMGasimov ParvizAZE2353
121
25135
FMIrizanin RadojeSRB23300 - 1GMDamljanovic BrankoSRB2501
41
26128
FMKaracsonyi GellertHUN2340½ - ½GMLeniart ArkadiuszPOL2499
43
2746
IMBlohberger FelixAUT24901 - 0Papidakis GeorgiosGRE2135
252
28148
FMBarseghyan Armen Ar.ARM2316½ - ½GMNestorovic NikolaSRB2477
51
2915
GMPuranik AbhimanyuIND258931 - 0CMBoucquet EmileBEL2100
272
302
GMKuzubov YuriyUKR265331 - 03FMMaerevoet SimBEL2384
103

Details

Round 7 results

Rd.Bo.No. NameFEDRtgPts.ResultPts.NameFEDRtg No.
7221
GMErigaisi ArjunIND256750 - 15GMKovalenko IgorLAT2643
3
7525
GMSanal VahapTUR255650 - 15GMNihal SarinIND2620
8
711113
Pranav VIND23661 - 0IMSuleymanli AydinAZE2563
24
71541
GMDamljanovic BrankoSRB25010 - 1IMAditya MittalIND2438
64
7162
GMKuzubov YuriyUKR265341 - 0IMBharath Subramaniyam HIND2426
72
71859
IMKilgus GeorgAUT24524½ - ½4GMPuranik AbhimanyuIND2589
15
72369
IMAhmadzada AhmadAZE243141 - 04GMSadhwani RaunakIND2555
26
72531
GMZanan EvgenyISR25354½ - ½4IMRaja Rithvik RIND2408
85
73184
FMBabazada KhazarAZE24094½ - ½4IMRaja HarshitIND2484
48
74366
IMMohammad Nubairshah ShaikhIND24361 - 0FMBaglan EsatTUR2359
117
756111
IMVardaan NagpalIND23661 - 0CMUnat Can HaktanTUR2130
254
76171
IMSankalp GuptaIND242931 - 03Sarenac DavidSRB2289
164
76486
IMAkshat KhampariaIND24063½ - ½3WIMBeydullayeva GovharAZE2264
180
769171
FMMarn JanSLO228030 - 13IMMullick RaahilIND2386
101
773107
FMVatsal SinghaniaIND23713½ - ½3FMAntova GabrielaBUL2241
196
775197
FMSpiric IgorSRB22413½ - ½3Souhardo BasakIND2364
115
790114
WGMNandhidhaa P VIND23650 - 1Thorsbro PeterDEN2233
202
7102276
WFMNurmanova AluaKAZ2093½ - ½Tanmay ChopraIND2273
174
7109136
FMStankovic Milos MSRB23272½ - ½2WIMSharma IshaIND2213
214
7117228
WIMRakshitta RaviIND219020 - 12IMVelickovic SasaSRB2281
170
7118175
CMDev ShahIND227021 - 02CMDebevec BlazSLO2135
251
7124289
Tomic StjepanCRO192820 - 12WGMVarshini VIND2226
208
7125211
Ojas KulkarniIND22162½ - ½2WFMKovacevic RadmilaSRB2093
275

Details

Round 8 pairings

Rd.Bo.No. NameFEDRtgPts.ResultPts.NameFEDRtg No.
818
GMNihal SarinIND262066GMKovalenko IgorLAT2643
3
8813
GMSafarli EltajAZE2604Pranav VIND2366
113
8964
IMAditya MittalIND24385GMPostny EvgenyISR2578
17
81346
IMBlohberger FelixAUT249055GMErigaisi ArjunIND2567
21
8187
GMPichot AlanARG2630IMMohammad Nubairshah ShaikhIND2436
66
82068
GMPap MisaSRB2431GMPuranik AbhimanyuIND2589
15
82472
IMBharath Subramaniyam HIND2426GMZanan EvgenyISR2535
31
82535
GMBogosavljevic BobanSRB2527IMRaja Rithvik RIND2408
85
83048
IMRaja HarshitIND2484FMDamjanovic VukSRB2369
109
83150
IMCabarkapa NovakSRB2478IMVardaan NagpalIND2366
111
845130
GMZhukova NataliaUKR233644IMSankalp GuptaIND2429
71
857101
IMMullick RaahilIND238644CMBoucquet EmileBEL2100
272
865177
FMSahin OzgunTUR2269IMAkshat KhampariaIND2406
86
869199
FMMaksimenko ViktorKAZ2239FMVatsal SinghaniaIND2371
107
872202
Thorsbro PeterDEN2233Souhardo BasakIND2364
115
892208
WGMVarshini VIND222633FMRonka ErikFIN2303
157
8101174
Tanmay ChopraIND227333WFMBalabayeva XeniyaKAZ2116
260
8102279
Jordanov MihailMKD208233CMDev ShahIND2270
175
8106139
IMZakic SrdjanSRB2324Ojas KulkarniIND2216
211
8107214
WIMSharma IshaIND2213IMHasanzade ToghrulAZE2323
142
8126273
Herega NejcSLO209922WIMRakshitta RaviIND2190
228

Details

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