Delhi 05+06: Resurgence!
Russian GM Ivan Popov (2650) had no qualms brushing aside two grandmasters in rounds five and six to move to a very comfortable lead with 6.0/6. However, the spotlight was on Indian youngsters taking on their higher-rated opponents and a handful of them registered victories! In the Category-B tournament that ended yesterday, Rishabh Nishad of Uttar Pradesh took home the Rs. 1.5 lakhs first prize and a ChessBase 13 software. A pictorial report with games analysis.
Delhi 05+06: Resurgence!
Russian GM Ivan Popov (2650) had no qualms brushing aside two grandmasters in rounds five and six to move to a very comfortable lead with 6.0/6. The third day of the Delhi Open 2016 had witnessed heartbreaks for Indian youngsters; therefore, it was interesting to see how they fared on day four, i.e., in the fifth and sixth rounds.
Russian GM Ivan Popov (2650) continued playing sublime chess to move to 6.0/6.
In the fifth and the sixth rounds, he registered crucial victories over Russian GM Demchenko (2596) and Hungarian GM Czebe Attila (2466).
Close on Popov's heels is Ukraine's GM Vitaly Sivuk (2566) at 5.5/6, as he defeated...
...Italian GM David Alberto (2597), thus derailing the latter's comeback efforts.
The top seed GM Boris Grachev (2652) of Russia managed to take down India's...
...IM K. Rathnakaran (2457) of Kerala
They thought they could bury us; they didn't know we were seeds.
There is always a certain charisma attached to the underdog fighting the odds to win an unlikely victory. The 14th Delhi Open 2016 saw the higher seeds tumble in remarkable numbers.
IM Sayantan Das (2411) of West Bengal defeated Delhi's GM Vaibhav Suri (2552)
[Event "Parsvnath Open 2016"]
[Site "Delhi IND"]
[Date "2016.01.12"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vaibhav, Suri"]
[Black "Das, Sayantan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D15"]
[Annotator "Das,Sayantan"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2011.10.09"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.12"]
[Site "Delhi IND"]
[Date "2016.01.12"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vaibhav, Suri"]
[Black "Das, Sayantan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D15"]
[Annotator "Das,Sayantan"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2011.10.09"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.12"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Ne5 {This move is
completely new to me. I was expecting somewhat like Be2 or Bd3.} ({He played
earlier} 6. Be2 e6 7. Nh4 Be4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. g3 Be7 11. Qc2 O-O
12. b3 Qc7 13. Bb2 Rad8 14. Rad1 Rfe8 15. a3 Bf8 16. Rd2 g6 17. Rfd1 Bg7 18. b4
a5 19. Ng2 Ra8 20. Ne1 axb4 21. axb4 Qb6 22. Qb3 h5 23. Bf1 Qc7 24. Bg2 b5 25.
Rc1 Qb8 26. cxb5 cxb5 27. Nc2 Nb6 28. Na3 Nbd5 29. Rc5 Bf8 30. Bf1 Bxc5 31.
dxc5 Ra4 32. Rd4 Ra8 33. Nxb5 Qe5 34. Nd6 Reb8 35. Rxe4 Qg5 36. Rd4 Nd7 37. h4
Qe7 38. Qc4 Ne5 39. Qe2 Nc6 40. Rxd5 exd5 41. b5 Ne5 42. Bd4 Rd8 43. Kg2 Rxd6
44. cxd6 Qxd6 45. b6 Nc4 46. b7 Rb8 47. Qa2 Rxb7 48. Bxc4 dxc4 49. Qxc4 Qe6 50.
Qc2 Qd5+ 51. Kh2 Rb8 52. Ba1 Qf3 53. Be5 Rd8 54. Bd4 Ra8 55. e4 Re8 56. Qc6 Rf8
57. Qd5 Qg4 58. Kg2 Qe6 59. Qb7 Re8 60. e5 {1/2-1/2 Vaibhav,S (2551)-Abhishek,
K (2400)/Pune IND 2015/The Week in Chess 1076}) 6... dxc4 $6 ({Theory is} 6...
Nbd7 7. Qb3 Qc7 8. cxd5 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Nxd5 10. Nxd5 cxd5 11. Bd2 e6 12. Rc1 Qd7
$11) 7. Bxc4 e6 8. g4 Be4 9. f3 Bd5 10. Be2 c5 11. g5 (11. e4 cxd4 (11... Bc6
$2 12. d5 $1 exd5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Bc4 Qh4+ 15. Kf1 Nxc3 (15... Qh3+ 16. Kg1
$18) 16. bxc3 Qf6 17. Bxf7+ Ke7 18. Nxc6+ Nxc6 19. Bd5 $16) 12. Nxd5 (12. Qxd4
Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 $11) 12... exd5 13. Qxd4 h6 14. Qa4+ Nbd7 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 16.
Qxd7+ Nxd7 17. exd5 Nb6 $14 {White is slightly better due to his double bishop
advantage}) (11. dxc5 $5) 11... Nfd7 12. Nxd5 Nxe5 (12... exd5 13. f4 Nc6 14.
O-O Ndxe5 15. dxe5 Be7 16. Bf3 $14) 13. Nc3 (13. dxe5 $142 Qxd5 14. Qxd5 exd5
15. f4 Nc6 16. Bf3 Rd8 17. Bd2 c4 18. O-O-O Bc5 19. Kb1 Ne7 $14 {Though white
position looks good but i think black can hold}) 13... cxd4 (13... Ng6 14. d5 (
14. dxc5 Qxg5 15. Qb3 Qh4+ 16. Kf1 Qh3+ (16... Nd7 17. Qxb7 Rb8 18. Qc7 Bxc5)
17. Ke1 Nd7 18. Qxb7 Rb8 19. Qxa6 Bxc5 $15) (14. Qb3 b5 15. a4 cxd4 16. exd4 b4
17. Ne4 Nc6 18. Be3 Nh4 19. Qc4 Na5 20. Qd3 Be7 $15) 14... Qxg5 15. f4 Qh4+ 16.
Kf1 Nd7 17. dxe6 fxe6 $40) 14. exd4 Ng6 15. d5 Nd7 16. O-O Bc5+ 17. Kh1 O-O 18.
f4 (18. dxe6 fxe6 19. Bc4 Qe7 20. Qb3 Bd4 21. Bxe6+ Kh8 22. Ne4 Nc5 23. Nxc5
Bxc5 $44) 18... e5 19. f5 Nf4 20. Ne4 Nxe2 21. Qxe2 Bd4 22. Be3 Re8 $2 (22...
Qa5 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Qc4 Nb6 25. Qxd4 Qxd5 26. Qxd5 Nxd5 $11) 23. d6 (23. Nd6
Rf8 24. Bxd4 exd4 25. g6 Nf6 26. gxf7+ Kh8 27. Qe6 $14) 23... Qb6 24. Rae1 Qc6
(24... Nc5 25. Nxc5 Bxc5 26. d7 Red8 27. Bxc5 Qxc5 28. Qxe5 Qxe5 29. Rxe5 Rxd7
$11) 25. Qg2 Rad8 $2 {we both are playing in time pressure} (25... Nc5 $142)
26. g6 fxg6 27. fxg6 h6 28. Rc1 (28. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 29. Qf3 Rf8 30. Qb3+ Kh8 31.
Rf7 $18) 28... Qd5 29. Rc7 Qe6 (29... Bxe3 30. Rxd7 Rxd7 31. Nf6+ gxf6 32.
Qxd5+ $16) 30. Bxh6 Rf8 31. Bg5 Qxg6 32. Re1 (32. Rfc1 $142 Nf6 33. Bxf6 Qxg2+
34. Kxg2 gxf6 35. Rxb7 $18) 32... Nf6 33. Nxf6+ gxf6 34. Qd5+ Kh8 35. Bh4 Rg8
36. Bg3 Qh5 37. Kg2 Qg6 38. Re4 Qh5 39. Qe6 Rg6 $6 (39... Qh6 40. Qh3 Qxh3+ 41.
Kxh3 Rg5 42. Rxb7 Rxd6 $13) 40. Qe7 $4 (40. Rc8 Rxc8 41. Qxc8+ Kh7 42. d7 $18)
40... Rdg8 41. d7 Qg5 $2 (41... Rh6 $19) 42. d8=Q $2 (42. Rxd4 exd4 43. Rc8
Qd2+ 44. Kg1 Qd1+ 45. Kf2 Qd2+ 46. Qe2 $16) 42... Qd2+ 43. Kf1 Qd1+ 44. Kg2
Qg1+ 45. Kh3 Qf1+ 46. Kh4 Rh6# {A lucky escape!} 0-1
completely new to me. I was expecting somewhat like Be2 or Bd3.} ({He played
earlier} 6. Be2 e6 7. Nh4 Be4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. g3 Be7 11. Qc2 O-O
12. b3 Qc7 13. Bb2 Rad8 14. Rad1 Rfe8 15. a3 Bf8 16. Rd2 g6 17. Rfd1 Bg7 18. b4
a5 19. Ng2 Ra8 20. Ne1 axb4 21. axb4 Qb6 22. Qb3 h5 23. Bf1 Qc7 24. Bg2 b5 25.
Rc1 Qb8 26. cxb5 cxb5 27. Nc2 Nb6 28. Na3 Nbd5 29. Rc5 Bf8 30. Bf1 Bxc5 31.
dxc5 Ra4 32. Rd4 Ra8 33. Nxb5 Qe5 34. Nd6 Reb8 35. Rxe4 Qg5 36. Rd4 Nd7 37. h4
Qe7 38. Qc4 Ne5 39. Qe2 Nc6 40. Rxd5 exd5 41. b5 Ne5 42. Bd4 Rd8 43. Kg2 Rxd6
44. cxd6 Qxd6 45. b6 Nc4 46. b7 Rb8 47. Qa2 Rxb7 48. Bxc4 dxc4 49. Qxc4 Qe6 50.
Qc2 Qd5+ 51. Kh2 Rb8 52. Ba1 Qf3 53. Be5 Rd8 54. Bd4 Ra8 55. e4 Re8 56. Qc6 Rf8
57. Qd5 Qg4 58. Kg2 Qe6 59. Qb7 Re8 60. e5 {1/2-1/2 Vaibhav,S (2551)-Abhishek,
K (2400)/Pune IND 2015/The Week in Chess 1076}) 6... dxc4 $6 ({Theory is} 6...
Nbd7 7. Qb3 Qc7 8. cxd5 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Nxd5 10. Nxd5 cxd5 11. Bd2 e6 12. Rc1 Qd7
$11) 7. Bxc4 e6 8. g4 Be4 9. f3 Bd5 10. Be2 c5 11. g5 (11. e4 cxd4 (11... Bc6
$2 12. d5 $1 exd5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Bc4 Qh4+ 15. Kf1 Nxc3 (15... Qh3+ 16. Kg1
$18) 16. bxc3 Qf6 17. Bxf7+ Ke7 18. Nxc6+ Nxc6 19. Bd5 $16) 12. Nxd5 (12. Qxd4
Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 $11) 12... exd5 13. Qxd4 h6 14. Qa4+ Nbd7 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 16.
Qxd7+ Nxd7 17. exd5 Nb6 $14 {White is slightly better due to his double bishop
advantage}) (11. dxc5 $5) 11... Nfd7 12. Nxd5 Nxe5 (12... exd5 13. f4 Nc6 14.
O-O Ndxe5 15. dxe5 Be7 16. Bf3 $14) 13. Nc3 (13. dxe5 $142 Qxd5 14. Qxd5 exd5
15. f4 Nc6 16. Bf3 Rd8 17. Bd2 c4 18. O-O-O Bc5 19. Kb1 Ne7 $14 {Though white
position looks good but i think black can hold}) 13... cxd4 (13... Ng6 14. d5 (
14. dxc5 Qxg5 15. Qb3 Qh4+ 16. Kf1 Qh3+ (16... Nd7 17. Qxb7 Rb8 18. Qc7 Bxc5)
17. Ke1 Nd7 18. Qxb7 Rb8 19. Qxa6 Bxc5 $15) (14. Qb3 b5 15. a4 cxd4 16. exd4 b4
17. Ne4 Nc6 18. Be3 Nh4 19. Qc4 Na5 20. Qd3 Be7 $15) 14... Qxg5 15. f4 Qh4+ 16.
Kf1 Nd7 17. dxe6 fxe6 $40) 14. exd4 Ng6 15. d5 Nd7 16. O-O Bc5+ 17. Kh1 O-O 18.
f4 (18. dxe6 fxe6 19. Bc4 Qe7 20. Qb3 Bd4 21. Bxe6+ Kh8 22. Ne4 Nc5 23. Nxc5
Bxc5 $44) 18... e5 19. f5 Nf4 20. Ne4 Nxe2 21. Qxe2 Bd4 22. Be3 Re8 $2 (22...
Qa5 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Qc4 Nb6 25. Qxd4 Qxd5 26. Qxd5 Nxd5 $11) 23. d6 (23. Nd6
Rf8 24. Bxd4 exd4 25. g6 Nf6 26. gxf7+ Kh8 27. Qe6 $14) 23... Qb6 24. Rae1 Qc6
(24... Nc5 25. Nxc5 Bxc5 26. d7 Red8 27. Bxc5 Qxc5 28. Qxe5 Qxe5 29. Rxe5 Rxd7
$11) 25. Qg2 Rad8 $2 {we both are playing in time pressure} (25... Nc5 $142)
26. g6 fxg6 27. fxg6 h6 28. Rc1 (28. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 29. Qf3 Rf8 30. Qb3+ Kh8 31.
Rf7 $18) 28... Qd5 29. Rc7 Qe6 (29... Bxe3 30. Rxd7 Rxd7 31. Nf6+ gxf6 32.
Qxd5+ $16) 30. Bxh6 Rf8 31. Bg5 Qxg6 32. Re1 (32. Rfc1 $142 Nf6 33. Bxf6 Qxg2+
34. Kxg2 gxf6 35. Rxb7 $18) 32... Nf6 33. Nxf6+ gxf6 34. Qd5+ Kh8 35. Bh4 Rg8
36. Bg3 Qh5 37. Kg2 Qg6 38. Re4 Qh5 39. Qe6 Rg6 $6 (39... Qh6 40. Qh3 Qxh3+ 41.
Kxh3 Rg5 42. Rxb7 Rxd6 $13) 40. Qe7 $4 (40. Rc8 Rxc8 41. Qxc8+ Kh7 42. d7 $18)
40... Rdg8 41. d7 Qg5 $2 (41... Rh6 $19) 42. d8=Q $2 (42. Rxd4 exd4 43. Rc8
Qd2+ 44. Kg1 Qd1+ 45. Kf2 Qd2+ 46. Qe2 $16) 42... Qd2+ 43. Kf1 Qd1+ 44. Kg2
Qg1+ 45. Kh3 Qf1+ 46. Kh4 Rh6# {A lucky escape!} 0-1
Pradeep Kumar (2302) took down GM Sipke Ernst (2536) of Netherlands
[Event "Delhi Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.13"]
[Round "6"]
[White "RA.Pradeep , Kumar"]
[Black "Ernst, Sipke"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2302"]
[BlackElo "2536"]
[Annotator "Pradeep Kumar,RA"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.13"]
[Round "6"]
[White "RA.Pradeep , Kumar"]
[Black "Ernst, Sipke"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2302"]
[BlackElo "2536"]
[Annotator "Pradeep Kumar,RA"]
[PlyCount "99"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. c4 e6 5. O-O Nd7 6. d4 Ngf6 7. b3 Be7 8. Bb2
O-O 9. Nc3 Qb6 10. Nd2 Rad8 11. Qc2 Bf5 12. e4 dxe4 13. Ncxe4 Bb4 14. c5 (14.
Nxf6+ Nxf6 15. Ne4 Be7 {[With the weak pawn on d4 black is slightly better]})
14... Qa6 15. Nc4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 Nf6 18. Qc2 Nd5 19. Bc1 Bc3 20.
Bb2 Ba5 21. a4 {[White has to worry about his Bishop on b2 and Black's strong
Knight on d5 but a passive Queen on a6 gives good compensation for white]} Ne7
22. b4 $1 {[using the fact that Queen on a6 is arrested by my Queen side pawns
I sacrificed the pawn on b4]} Bxb4 23. a5 $40 Nd5 24. Rfb1 (24. Ra4 $1 e5 25.
Rb1 $14) 24... Bc3 25. Nd6 Bxa5 26. Bc1 b6 27. Rb2 Ne7 28. Bg5 Rd7 29. Bxe7 {
[Inactive [Inactive Black's Queen and Bishop gives good compensation for the
two pawns]} Rxe7 30. Qe4 f5 31. Qf3 h6 32. h4 Kh8 33. Re2 Rf6 34. Re5 {[My
opponent is running out of moves and so I thought of improving my position
further} Kg8 35. Kg2 Kh8 36. Ra3 {[Stopping the Queen entry on d3 when i
capture on c6 with my Queen]} Kg8 37. Qxc6 f4 38. g4 f3+ 39. Rxf3 Rxf3 40. Qxf3
bxc5 41. Rxe6 (41. Qa8+ {[I missed this variation during the game]} Kh7 42.
Qe4+ Kg8 43. Rxe6 $18) 41... Rxe6 42. Qf7+ Kh7 43. Qxe6 cxd4 44. Qe4+ Kg8 45.
Qd5+ Kh8 46. h5 Kh7 47. Qe4+ Kg8 48. Qa8+ Kh7 49. Nf7 Bd8 50. Qe4+ 1-0
O-O 9. Nc3 Qb6 10. Nd2 Rad8 11. Qc2 Bf5 12. e4 dxe4 13. Ncxe4 Bb4 14. c5 (14.
Nxf6+ Nxf6 15. Ne4 Be7 {[With the weak pawn on d4 black is slightly better]})
14... Qa6 15. Nc4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 Nf6 18. Qc2 Nd5 19. Bc1 Bc3 20.
Bb2 Ba5 21. a4 {[White has to worry about his Bishop on b2 and Black's strong
Knight on d5 but a passive Queen on a6 gives good compensation for white]} Ne7
22. b4 $1 {[using the fact that Queen on a6 is arrested by my Queen side pawns
I sacrificed the pawn on b4]} Bxb4 23. a5 $40 Nd5 24. Rfb1 (24. Ra4 $1 e5 25.
Rb1 $14) 24... Bc3 25. Nd6 Bxa5 26. Bc1 b6 27. Rb2 Ne7 28. Bg5 Rd7 29. Bxe7 {
[Inactive [Inactive Black's Queen and Bishop gives good compensation for the
two pawns]} Rxe7 30. Qe4 f5 31. Qf3 h6 32. h4 Kh8 33. Re2 Rf6 34. Re5 {[My
opponent is running out of moves and so I thought of improving my position
further} Kg8 35. Kg2 Kh8 36. Ra3 {[Stopping the Queen entry on d3 when i
capture on c6 with my Queen]} Kg8 37. Qxc6 f4 38. g4 f3+ 39. Rxf3 Rxf3 40. Qxf3
bxc5 41. Rxe6 (41. Qa8+ {[I missed this variation during the game]} Kh7 42.
Qe4+ Kg8 43. Rxe6 $18) 41... Rxe6 42. Qf7+ Kh7 43. Qxe6 cxd4 44. Qe4+ Kg8 45.
Qd5+ Kh8 46. h5 Kh7 47. Qe4+ Kg8 48. Qa8+ Kh7 49. Nf7 Bd8 50. Qe4+ 1-0
Black's inactive queen eventually ended up costing him dearly.
IM Ravi Teja (2385) accounted for ...
GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy (2546) of Russia
Goa's Ameya Audi (2061) managed to defeat...
...Russian GM Artur Gabrielian (2545)
Iniyan P. (2275) created a flutter by defeating an out of sorts...
...GM Esen Baris (2530) of Turkey, who later summarized his tournament succinctly by commenting:
I have played Indian titled players in the past in Europe and I had a good score. But these Indian 2200s play better than the Indian grandmasters!
Youngsters were not the only ones to upset higher rated grandmasters; GM Sriram Jha (2416) too came to the party with a win over...
...GM Adam Tukhaev (2556) from Ukraine
Uzbek GM Marat Dzhumaev (2496), who has competed in ten of the fourteen editions of the Delhi Open, and Bala Kannamma (2020) of Tamil Nadu celebrated their birthdays yesterday!
Pairings for Round 07:
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 2 | GM | Popov Ivan | 2650 | 6 | 5½ | GM | Sivuk Vitaly | 2566 | 6 | |
| 2 | 29 | IM | Das Sayantan | 2411 | 5 | 5 | GM | Grachev Boris | 2652 | 1 | |
| 3 | 35 | IM | Ravi Teja S. | 2385 | 5 | 5 | GM | Solodovnichenko Yuri | 2581 | 5 | |
| 4 | 27 | GM | Sriram Jha | 2416 | 5 | 5 | Pradeep Kumar R A | 2302 | 47 | ||
| 5 | 34 | IM | Himanshu Sharma | 2385 | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Demchenko Anton | 2596 | 4 | |
| 6 | 10 | GM | Lalith Babu M R | 2553 | 4½ | 4½ | FM | K. Praneeth Surya | 2429 | 25 | |
| 7 | 18 | GM | Nguyen Duc Hoa | 2494 | 4½ | 4½ | IM | Nitin S. | 2400 | 31 | |
| 8 | 20 | IM | Narayanan Srinath | 2478 | 4½ | 4½ | IM | Visakh N R | 2388 | 32 | |
| 9 | 52 | Iniyan P | 2275 | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Czebe Attila | 2466 | 21 | ||
| 10 | 24 | IM | Vignesh N R | 2448 | 4½ | 4½ | IM | Krishna C R G | 2387 | 33 |
View the complete pairing list here.
Complete results of Round 06.
Download important Round 01-06 games in PGN.
Watch the games live on Playchess!
Category-B Open
The utterly chaotic race to the finish came to an end yesterday with the players who dared to take the risk to fight for a win succeeding in their efforts. What do they say about fortune favouring the brave?
Rishabh Nishad (1863) of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh took the first place with 9.0/10.
Pankaj Sharma (1892) of Bhatinda, Punjab settled for the second spot on tiebreak with 9.0/10 as well.
Besides the Rs. 1,50,000 that Rishabh won, Chessbase India awarded him the ChessBase 13 software for his winning effort.
View complete standings here.
The Category-C tournament for players rated below 1600 begins today and has already attracted 1041 players!
Photos for ChessBase India