Sunway Sitges Open R4: Nino Batsiashvili beats Karen Grigoryan
Shahid Ahmed·3 min read
Eleven players share the lead with 3.5 points at the conclusion of Round 4 in VII Sunway Sitges Open. All top three boards ended up in draws in Round 4. Although GM Nicholas Checa was winning against GM Jules Moussard for the better part of the game, but he could not convert it. GM Nino Batsiashvili scored a fantastic win against GM Karen Grigoryan. IM Leon Mendonca was held to a draw by FM Mahel Boyer and Souhardo Basak lost to IM Hans Niemann. Leon will face veteran GM Oleg Romanishin and Souhardo will go against Xavier Serrano Aspa in Round 5 starting tonight from 9 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Sunway Chess Open
Defending champion Korobov suffered a loss against GM Hipolito Asis Gargatagli. Georgian GM Nino Batsiashvili after delivering a Masterclass defeated Armenian GM Karen Grigoryan. IM Leon Mendonca was held to a draw by FM Mahel Boyer and Souhardo Basak lost to IM Hans Niemann. Shubham Bandikatte beat second seed Abderezzak Slimani and he is now at 3.5/4 in Group B.
Marc Narciso Dublan held the top seed Anton Korobov to a draw | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Sunway Chess Open
Korobov suffers a loss
After escaping from the jaws of defeat in Round 2 and salvaging a draw in Round 3, the defending champion Korobov got outplayed by Hipolito Asis Gargatagli.
Hipolito - Korobov
Position after 18...Kg7
Find out the best continuation for white after 18...Kg7
It will be a tall order for Korobov to make a comeback to defend his title | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Sunway Chess Open
Nino beats Karen
Nino Batsiashvili got an advantage early in the opening against Karen Grigoryan.
Batsiashvili - Grigoryan
Position after 14...b5
14...b5 definitely looks bad for black. What is the correct continuation for white?
With this win Nino joins ten other leaders with 3.5/4 | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Sunway Chess Open
Boyer held Leon
Mahel Boyer played absolutely solid and gave Leon no chance which resulted in a draw.
Leon's temperature is being checked as part of the safety measures | Photo: Sunway Chess Open
Niemann beats Souhardo
Souhardo played a bit inaccurately in the middle game, however he still managed to get a seemingly equal endgame, until he made a strange backward move.
Niemann - Souhardo
Position after 33...Ne8
Instead of 33...Ne8, black should have played a bit more actively with 33...Nd5.
Photo Gallery
GM Matthieu Cornette giving his lecture | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Sunway Chess Open
GM Nino Batsiashvili gave a lecture before beating Karen Grigoryan and taking the lead | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Sunway Chess Open
Various parts of the tournament hall has a beautiful view | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Sunway Chess Open
