Delhi 02+03: not a walk in the park
The 14th Delhi Open 2016 took off in the Indian capital with almost 1600 players competing for their share of the 35 Lakhs prize fund that is up for grabs. Indians had a solid day at work as many youngsters held the higher seeds to draws while some even managed to defeat them. ChessBase India brings you a pictorial report.
Delhi 02+03: not a walk in the park
In the first couple of rounds of a tournament normally, you would expect the top seeds to have a smooth sailing. There may be upsets here and there; nevertheless, the larger picture always tells the same story -- the higher-rated players survive and the lowers die. This used to be the case in the Indian grandmaster tournaments as well.
It is no secret that the junior players in India are underrated. Over a period of time, it is only natural that these juniors become strong enough to eliminate the most seasoned of the grandmasters. The 14th Delhi Open 2016 is a refreshing boost with the Indian juniors coming good in their hunt for norms and rating points.
Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad (2258) began his day with a second round clash with...
Russian GM Vladimir Belous (2557)
Playing white, the Andhra boy found an efficient way to win the game
Notes by Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad:
[Event "Delhi GM Open 2016"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.10"]
[Round "2.7"]
[White "Bala Chandra Prasad, Dhulipalla"]
[Black "Belous, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A48"]
[WhiteElo "2248"]
[BlackElo "2556"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.12.24"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.10"]
[Round "2.7"]
[White "Bala Chandra Prasad, Dhulipalla"]
[Black "Belous, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A48"]
[WhiteElo "2248"]
[BlackElo "2556"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.12.24"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be2 c5 7. c3 b6 {Going
for reversed-Reti setups} 8. O-O Bb7 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 10. a4 a6 11. Bh2 Qc7 12. Bd3
{In these type of positions, the Bishop is better placed on d3 than on e2} Rfe8
13. Qe2 (13. e4 $5 e5 14. d5 $11) 13... e5 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. Rfd1 Qc6 16. e4
Re7 {Trying to understand the position, I sank into deep thought here (around
30 min)} 17. Nc4 ({White doesn't have a clear plan after} 17. Bc4) 17... Qc7 ({
Better is} 17... Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Qxe4 19. Qxe4 Bxe4 20. Rxd7 Rxd7 21. Nxb6 Rdd8
22. Nxa8 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Rxa8 24. Rd1 {and I can bring my bishop back to the
game by Rd5. I thought it should be around equal}) 18. Bc2 Rb8 $2 {Giving up
the light squared Bishop is bad idea.} 19. Nd6 Ne8 20. Nxb7 Qxb7 21. Bb3 Nef6
22. Bc4 b5 23. axb5 axb5 24. Bd5 Nxd5 25. Rxd5 f6 26. b4 $2 (26. Rad1 $14)
26... Nb6 {I completely overlooked this move} 27. Rd6 (27. Rxc5 $2 {loses
exchange} Na4) 27... Nc4 28. Rd5 Nb6 29. Rd6 Na4 30. bxc5 Nxc3 $4 {It is
unclear what he overlooked.} (30... Nxc5 $15) 31. Qd3 {Now white is winning}
Na4 (31... Nxe4 $2 {loses a piece to} 32. Rb6) 32. c6 Qc7 33. Rd1 Rf7 34. Qb3
Kh8 35. Rd7 (35. Bxe5 {is also winning. During the game I calculated this move
for a while, but then I decided to keep things simple.} fxe5 36. Ng5 Rff8 (
36... Rf6 37. Rxf6 Bxf6 38. Rd7) (36... Re7 37. Rd7) 37. Ne6 Qf7 {and it is
not an easy task for white}) 35... Rxd7 36. cxd7 Nc5 37. Qf7 Qd8 38. Qd5 Na4
39. Bxe5 $1 fxe5 40. Ng5 Nc3 (40... Qxg5 41. d8=Q+ Rxd8 42. Qxd8+ Qxd8 43.
Rxd8+ Bf8 44. Rxf8+) 41. Nf7+ Kg8 42. Nh6+ (42. Qb3 {wins the whole queen})
42... Kh8 43. Nf7+ Kg8 44. Nxd8+ Nxd5 45. Nc6 Ra8 46. Rxd5 Bf6 47. d8=Q+ Bxd8
48. Rxd8+ Rxd8 49. Nxd8 b4 50. Nc6 b3 51. Ne7+ Kf7 52. Nd5 b2 53. Nc3 1-0
for reversed-Reti setups} 8. O-O Bb7 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 10. a4 a6 11. Bh2 Qc7 12. Bd3
{In these type of positions, the Bishop is better placed on d3 than on e2} Rfe8
13. Qe2 (13. e4 $5 e5 14. d5 $11) 13... e5 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. Rfd1 Qc6 16. e4
Re7 {Trying to understand the position, I sank into deep thought here (around
30 min)} 17. Nc4 ({White doesn't have a clear plan after} 17. Bc4) 17... Qc7 ({
Better is} 17... Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Qxe4 19. Qxe4 Bxe4 20. Rxd7 Rxd7 21. Nxb6 Rdd8
22. Nxa8 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Rxa8 24. Rd1 {and I can bring my bishop back to the
game by Rd5. I thought it should be around equal}) 18. Bc2 Rb8 $2 {Giving up
the light squared Bishop is bad idea.} 19. Nd6 Ne8 20. Nxb7 Qxb7 21. Bb3 Nef6
22. Bc4 b5 23. axb5 axb5 24. Bd5 Nxd5 25. Rxd5 f6 26. b4 $2 (26. Rad1 $14)
26... Nb6 {I completely overlooked this move} 27. Rd6 (27. Rxc5 $2 {loses
exchange} Na4) 27... Nc4 28. Rd5 Nb6 29. Rd6 Na4 30. bxc5 Nxc3 $4 {It is
unclear what he overlooked.} (30... Nxc5 $15) 31. Qd3 {Now white is winning}
Na4 (31... Nxe4 $2 {loses a piece to} 32. Rb6) 32. c6 Qc7 33. Rd1 Rf7 34. Qb3
Kh8 35. Rd7 (35. Bxe5 {is also winning. During the game I calculated this move
for a while, but then I decided to keep things simple.} fxe5 36. Ng5 Rff8 (
36... Rf6 37. Rxf6 Bxf6 38. Rd7) (36... Re7 37. Rd7) 37. Ne6 Qf7 {and it is
not an easy task for white}) 35... Rxd7 36. cxd7 Nc5 37. Qf7 Qd8 38. Qd5 Na4
39. Bxe5 $1 fxe5 40. Ng5 Nc3 (40... Qxg5 41. d8=Q+ Rxd8 42. Qxd8+ Qxd8 43.
Rxd8+ Bf8 44. Rxf8+) 41. Nf7+ Kg8 42. Nh6+ (42. Qb3 {wins the whole queen})
42... Kh8 43. Nf7+ Kg8 44. Nxd8+ Nxd5 45. Nc6 Ra8 46. Rxd5 Bf6 47. d8=Q+ Bxd8
48. Rxd8+ Rxd8 49. Nxd8 b4 50. Nc6 b3 51. Ne7+ Kf7 52. Nd5 b2 53. Nc3 1-0
Then, in the third round, he beat Ukrainian GM Valeriy Neverov (2506)
There is no need to hurry. Since my opponent was in time trouble, I decided to maintain the pressure.
Notes by Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad:
[Event "Delhi GM Open 2016"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.10"]
[Round "3.10"]
[White "Neverov, Valery"]
[Black "Bala Chandra Prasad, Dhulipalla"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2507"]
[BlackElo "2248"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.12.24"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.10"]
[Round "3.10"]
[White "Neverov, Valery"]
[Black "Bala Chandra Prasad, Dhulipalla"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2507"]
[BlackElo "2248"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.12.24"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. c4 c6 6. b3 d6 7. d4 e5 8. dxe5 {
white shouldn't allow e4} dxe5 9. Ba3 Qxd1 (9... e4 $5 10. Bxf8 Qxf8 11. Nd4 {
Black has good compensation, but during the game I thought that it wouldn't be
enough.}) 10. Rxd1 Re8 11. Nc3 Bf5 12. h3 {planning g4} h5 13. Nd2 Na6 14. c5
e4 {threatening both e3 and Nd5} 15. e3 Bf8 (15... Nd5 {wins the exchange, but
white gets good compensation after} 16. Ncxe4 Bxa1 17. Rxa1) 16. b4 Nc7 17. Nc4
Nfd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5 (18... Nxd5 $5) 19. Na5 Bg7 20. Rab1 b6 21. Nc6 ({for} 21.
Nb3 bxc5 22. bxc5 Rab8) 21... Bd7 22. Nd4 bxc5 23. bxc5 Bxd4 24. exd4 Rab8 25.
Rb4 Rxb4 26. Bxb4 Rb8 27. a3 $2 {Now black's Knight will come to c6 to attack
the bishop, and when it moves then Rook occupies the third rank} ({Better is}
27. Bc3 $11) 27... Ne6 28. h4 Nd8 29. f3 f5 30. fxe4 fxe4 31. Rf1 Bf5 32. Re1
Nc6 33. Rd1 Kf7 {There is no need to hurry. Since my opponent was in time
trouble, I decided to maintain the pressure.} 34. Bf1 Nxb4 35. axb4 Rxb4 36.
Kf2 Ke6 37. Ba6 Rb2+ (37... Kd7 {is also possible, but after} 38. Ke3 Rb3+ 39.
Kf4 {black has to deal with Ke5}) 38. Ke1 Kd7 39. Ra1 Rb4 40. Ra4 Rxa4 41. Bb5+
Kc7 42. Bxa4 Bd7 43. Bb3 Bc6 {now black will make use of both the passed pawns
and bring his king to the kingside} 44. Kd2 Kd7 45. Bd1 Ke6 46. g4 hxg4 ({
Creating the passed pawn with} 46... g5 $1 {wins on the spot}) 47. Bxg4+ Kf6
48. Kc3 a5 49. Bc8 Kg7 50. Ba6 g5 51. hxg5 Kg6 52. Kd2 Kxg5 53. Ke3 a4 54. Kd2
e3+ 55. Kc3 Kf4 56. Be2 Kg3 57. Kc2 Kf2 0-1
white shouldn't allow e4} dxe5 9. Ba3 Qxd1 (9... e4 $5 10. Bxf8 Qxf8 11. Nd4 {
Black has good compensation, but during the game I thought that it wouldn't be
enough.}) 10. Rxd1 Re8 11. Nc3 Bf5 12. h3 {planning g4} h5 13. Nd2 Na6 14. c5
e4 {threatening both e3 and Nd5} 15. e3 Bf8 (15... Nd5 {wins the exchange, but
white gets good compensation after} 16. Ncxe4 Bxa1 17. Rxa1) 16. b4 Nc7 17. Nc4
Nfd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5 (18... Nxd5 $5) 19. Na5 Bg7 20. Rab1 b6 21. Nc6 ({for} 21.
Nb3 bxc5 22. bxc5 Rab8) 21... Bd7 22. Nd4 bxc5 23. bxc5 Bxd4 24. exd4 Rab8 25.
Rb4 Rxb4 26. Bxb4 Rb8 27. a3 $2 {Now black's Knight will come to c6 to attack
the bishop, and when it moves then Rook occupies the third rank} ({Better is}
27. Bc3 $11) 27... Ne6 28. h4 Nd8 29. f3 f5 30. fxe4 fxe4 31. Rf1 Bf5 32. Re1
Nc6 33. Rd1 Kf7 {There is no need to hurry. Since my opponent was in time
trouble, I decided to maintain the pressure.} 34. Bf1 Nxb4 35. axb4 Rxb4 36.
Kf2 Ke6 37. Ba6 Rb2+ (37... Kd7 {is also possible, but after} 38. Ke3 Rb3+ 39.
Kf4 {black has to deal with Ke5}) 38. Ke1 Kd7 39. Ra1 Rb4 40. Ra4 Rxa4 41. Bb5+
Kc7 42. Bxa4 Bd7 43. Bb3 Bc6 {now black will make use of both the passed pawns
and bring his king to the kingside} 44. Kd2 Kd7 45. Bd1 Ke6 46. g4 hxg4 ({
Creating the passed pawn with} 46... g5 $1 {wins on the spot}) 47. Bxg4+ Kf6
48. Kc3 a5 49. Bc8 Kg7 50. Ba6 g5 51. hxg5 Kg6 52. Kd2 Kxg5 53. Ke3 a4 54. Kd2
e3+ 55. Kc3 Kf4 56. Be2 Kg3 57. Kc2 Kf2 0-1
Joining Dhulipalla at the top is Himal Gusain (2335) of Chandigarh who defeated Ukrainian GM Marat Dzhumaev (2495)
Niranjan Navalgund (2223) is playing some good chess and is on 2.5/3, as he defeated GM Baris Esen (2530) of Turkey
GM Boris Grachev (2652) of Russia settled for a draw with...
...Tamil Nadu boy IM Visakh NR (2388)
GM Yuri Solodovnichenko (2581) was held to a draw by...
The experienced IM Himanshu Sharma (2385)
Although Rakesh Kulkarni (2349) of Maharashtra burnt a lot of time on the clock, he held...
Russian GM Mikhail Mozharov (2559) who is a regular in Indian GM events.
GM Adam Tukhaev (2556) of Ukraine could not find a way to snatch a win from...
...FM Ankit Gajwa (2335), who in the past one year has progressed at a very good pace.
From what looked like a bad position, FM Mehar Chinna Reddy (2293) managed to salvage a draw against GM Sipke Ernst of Netherlands
2006 born CM Aditya Mittal (1960) of Mumbai is at 2.0/3 and is already increasing 60 elo points -- talent!
The gigantic playing arena that is the host to this tournament
Pairings for Round 04:
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 18 | GM | Nguyen Duc Hoa | 2494 | 3 | 3 | GM | Popov Ivan | 2650 | 2 | |
| 2 | 42 | Gusain Himal | 2335 | 3 | 3 | GM | Demchenko Anton | 2596 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 46 | IM | Sangma Rahul | 2303 | 3 | 3 | GM | Sivuk Vitaly | 2566 | 6 | |
| 4 | 61 | Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad | 2248 | 3 | 3 | GM | Bernadskiy Vitaliy | 2546 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 1 | GM | Grachev Boris | 2652 | 2½ | 2½ | IM | Nitin S. | 2400 | 31 | |
| 6 | 5 | GM | Solodovnichenko Yuri | 2581 | 2½ | 2½ | IM | Visakh N R | 2388 | 32 | |
| 7 | 7 | GM | Mozharov Mikhail | 2559 | 2½ | 2½ | IM | Himanshu Sharma | 2385 | 34 | |
| 8 | 9 | GM | Tukhaev Adam | 2556 | 2½ | 2½ | Kulkarni Rakesh | 2349 | 38 | ||
| 9 | 11 | GM | Vaibhav Suri | 2552 | 2½ | 2½ | FM | Gajwa Ankit | 2335 | 41 | |
| 10 | 13 | GM | Gabrielian Artur | 2545 | 2½ | 2½ | Pradeep Kumar R A | 2302 | 47 |
View the complete pairing list here.
Complete results of Round 03.
Watch the games LIVE!
Download important Round 01-03 games in PGN
Category-B Open
Alongside the main event, the 14th Delhi Open is also conducting a rating tournament for players rated below the 2000 mark, with a record prize fund. As far as results in this section go, it is utter chaos! Being a rating favourite is tantamount to a joke as higher seeds tumbled in big numbers.
Pairings for Round 07 and other information.
Among the three players tied for the lead with 6.0/6 is Amini Habibullah (1976) of Afghanistan (!)
Photos for ChessBase India