Delhi 09: A step closer
While GM Popov settled for a fairly easy draw in the penultimate round of the 2016 Delhi Open, the Indians on the top boards had a mixed day. The brightest spot of the day was IM Sayantan Das's win over Italian GM David Alberto, thus inching closer to a GM norm. ChessBase India brings you an illustrated report.
Delhi 09: A step closer
While GM Popov settled for a fairly easy draw in the penultimate round of the 2016 Delhi Open, the Indians on the top boards had a mixed day. The brightest spot of the day was IM Sayantan Das's win over Italian GM David Alberto, thus inching closer to a GM norm.
Russian GM Ivan Popov inched a step closer to winning the Delhi Open 2016 by settling for a draw with Ukraine's GM Yuri Solodovnichenko (2581)
IM N. Srinath (2478) had a very good position from where he coughed his way to a loss.
The top Indian in the fray GM Lalith Babu (2553) had a forgettable day in the office against...
...Hungarian GM Czebe Attila (2466), who moved to clear second place with 7.5/9.
Himal Gusain (2335) managed to defeat FM Praneeth Surya (2429) and register an IM-norm.
In a Delhi derby, GM Sriram Jha (2416) held GM Vaibhav Suri (2552) to a draw.
One benefit of having ten-round tournaments is that there is a possibility to register ten-game norms for the players. IM Sayantan Das (2411) is aiming for a GM-norm while Prince Bajaj (2268) and Pratik Patil (2270) are aiming for their IM-norms. All of them require a win in their final-round game.
Tamil Nadu's FM Praggnanandhaa R. (2174) and Kerala's FM Nihal Sarin (2217) are both on 5.5/9.
The Punjab Bhawan at Mandi House, where many a titled players are housed, serves inexpensive yet lip-smacking food.
The regal Winner's trophy
Pairings for Round 09:
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 16 | GM | Neverov Valeriy | 2506 | 7 | 8 | GM | Popov Ivan | 2650 | 2 | |
| 2 | 6 | GM | Sivuk Vitaly | 2566 | 7 | 7½ | GM | Czebe Attila | 2466 | 21 | |
| 3 | 5 | GM | Solodovnichenko Yuri | 2581 | 7 | 6½ | GM | Lalith Babu M R | 2553 | 10 | |
| 4 | 1 | GM | Grachev Boris | 2652 | 6½ | 6½ | IM | Vignesh N R | 2448 | 24 | |
| 5 | 4 | GM | Demchenko Anton | 2596 | 6½ | 6½ | GM | Sriram Jha | 2416 | 27 | |
| 6 | 7 | GM | Mozharov Mikhail | 2559 | 6½ | 6½ | IM | Rathnakaran K. | 2457 | 23 | |
| 7 | 11 | GM | Vaibhav Suri | 2552 | 6½ | 6½ | Gusain Himal | 2335 | 42 | ||
| 8 | 12 | GM | Bernadskiy Vitaliy | 2546 | 6½ | 6½ | IM | Das Sayantan | 2411 | 29 | |
| 9 | 19 | GM | Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy | 2489 | 6½ | 6½ | GM | Nguyen Duc Hoa | 2494 | 18 | |
| 10 | 34 | IM | Himanshu Sharma | 2385 | 6 | 6 | GM | Belous Vladimir | 2557 | 8 |
View the complete pairing list here.
Complete results of Round 08.
Download important Round 01-09 games in PGN
Watch the games LIVE by clicking the above link.
Category-C Open
The sea of humanity! Check the pairings for Round 09 here.
The large numbers in the C-category also mean that there are spectators in huge numbers to watch the A-category games.
Photos for ChessBase India