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Men's Premier 13: Murali Karthikeyan!

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 29/11/2015

Murali Karthikeyan is India's new National Champion! He began the tournament with a terrible 0.0/2 and then scaled up the peak with one win after another to end up with 8.5/13. He is the winner despite suffering three losses, including one in the final round today, while Vidit had to be content with the second spot on tiebreak despite losing only one game, to M. Karthikeyan himself. An illustrated report.

Men's Premier 13: Murali Karthikeyan!

Murali Karthikeyan is India's new National Champion! He began the tournament with a terrible 0.0/2 and then scaled up the peak with one win after another to end up with 8.5/13. He is the winner despite suffering three losses, including one in the final round today, while Vidit had to be content with the second spot on tiebreak despite losing only one game, to M. Karthikeyan himself.

Arghyadip Das - Murali Karthikeyan

All M. Karthikeyan needed was a draw in this final round game with Arghyadip Das to clinch the title without any hiccups. However, Arghyadip was in no mood to relent and chose to fight after gaining an advantage in the middlegame.

Arghyadip showing the eye of the tiger to...

Murali Karthikeyan, who found himself in troubled waters

Black just played 19...Rfc8. What plan should White adopt?

White played 20. Bc5! Nxc4 21. Rxc4 b6 22. Ng5 attacking f7.

22.Ng5 attacking f7

Now 22... bxc5 is met by an intermediate move...

Arghyadip playing 23. Rxf7

M. Karthikeyan played 23... Qb6 24. bxc5 Rxc5...

White found a neat way to win a pawn, and eventually the game

 

[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.28"]
[Round "13.1"]
[White "Das Arghyadip"]
[Black "Karthikeyan Murali"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B09"]
[WhiteElo "2456"]
[BlackElo "2498"]
[PlyCount "181"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[WhiteClock "0:18:00"]
[BlackClock "0:19:24"]
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 Nf6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. e5 dxe5 7. fxe5 Nd5 8. Bc4
Be6 9. Bxd5 Bxd5 10. Nxd5 Qxd5 11. Qe2 e6 12. c4 Qd7 13. Bf4 c5 14. dxc5 Na6
15. O-O Qc7 16. a3 Nxc5 17. b4 Nd7 18. Rac1 Nb6 19. Be3 Rfc8 20. Bc5 Nxc4 21.
Rxc4 b6 22. Ng5 bxc5 23. Rxf7 Qb6 24. bxc5 Rxc5 25. Rxg7+ Kxg7 26. Nxe6+ Qxe6
27. Rxc5 Qb6 28. Qb5 h5 29. a4 Rd8 30. Qxb6 axb6 31. Rc7+ Kh6 32. e6 Re8 33.
Rc6 Ra8 34. e7 Kg7 35. Rd6 Re8 36. Rxb6 Rxe7 37. Rb1 Ra7 38. Ra1 Ra5 39. Kf2
Kf6 40. Ke3 Ke5 41. Kd3 Kd6 42. Kc4 Kc7 43. Ra2 Kb6 44. Kd4 Rg5 45. a5+ Ka6 46.
Ke4 Rf5 47. Rd2 Rxa5 48. Rd6+ Kb7 49. Rxg6 h4 50. h3 Rh5 51. Kf4 Kc7 52. Kg4
Rh8 53. Kg5 Kd7 54. Kf6 Ke8 55. Rg5 Kf8 56. Ra5 Rh6+ 57. Kg5 Rc6 58. Kxh4 Kg7
59. Ra3 Kg6 60. g4 Rb6 61. Kg3 Rc6 62. h4 Rb6 63. h5+ Kh6 64. Kh4 Rb4 65. Ra5
Rc4 66. Re5 Rb4 67. Re6+ Kg7 68. Kg5 Rb5+ 69. Kf4 Rb1 70. Kf5 Rf1+ 71. Kg5 Ra1
72. Re7+ Kg8 73. h6 Ra6 74. Kh5 Rb6 75. g5 Rb5 76. Kg6 Rb8 77. Rg7+ Kh8 78. Rf7
Kg8 79. Rf5 Rb6+ 80. Kh5 Rb1 81. g6 Rh1+ 82. Kg5 Rg1+ 83. Kf6 Rg2 84. Rd5 Rf2+
85. Kg5 Rg2+ 86. Kf5 Rf2+ 87. Ke4 Re2+ 88. Kf3 Re8 89. Kf4 Ra8 90. Kg5 Rb8 91.
h7+ 1-0

The Chennai lad's title largely depended on Vidit's game against Shyam Sundar 

Vidit Gujrathi - Shyam Sundar

Vidit managed to gain an advantage in the early middlegame and was at the cusp of winning his first National Premier title when things started to go wrong for him in time-pressure.

Vidit Gujrathi was playing...

Shyam Sundar M.

 

White has a serene advantage, but with both sides under time-pressure, Black managed to stir the pot with...

19...Bxe2, thus managing to complicate the game

And they had less than three minutes each for making the remaining moves!

With barely any time left on the clock, Black went...

30...Bxg3?!

Vidit took his time, but with less time on the clock, he could not force the issue in his favour
[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.28"]
[Round "13.2"]
[White "Vidit Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Black "Shyam Sundar M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2651"]
[BlackElo "2481"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[WhiteClock "0:04:33"]
[BlackClock "0:24:52"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 b5 7. O-O a5 8. a3
Be7 9. b3 cxb3 10. Qxb3 O-O 11. Qxb5 c5 12. dxc5 Ba6 13. Qb2 Nd5 14. Ne4 Nd7
15. c6 N7f6 16. Nd4 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Bf6 18. Rd1 h6 19. Qc2 Bxe2 20. Nxe2 Bxa1 21.
Nf4 Be5 22. Bxd5 exd5 23. Nxd5 Rc8 24. Be3 Qe8 25. c7 Qe6 26. Bb6 h5 27. Bxa5
h4 28. Qe4 hxg3 29. hxg3 Rfe8 30. Bb4 Bxg3 31. Qxe6 fxe6 32. Ne7+ Rxe7 33. Bxe7
Bxc7 34. Kg2 Bb6 35. Rd2 Rc4 36. Rd6 Kf7 37. Rd7 Kg6 38. Rb7 Bd4 39. Rb4 Rxb4
40. axb4 Kf7 41. Bc5 Bxc5 42. bxc5 Ke7 43. Kf3 Kd7 44. Ke4 Kc6 45. Kd4 e5+ 46.
Kxe5 Kxc5 47. f4 Kc4 48. f5 Kd3 49. Kf4 Kd4 50. Kg5 Ke4 51. Kg6 Kf4 52. Kxg7
Kxf5 1/2-1/2

Rathnakaran - Venkatesh

Venky plummeted to his third defeat in a row, once again

Rathnakaran, as expected, played entertaining chess throughout the tournament

47.Qxa5 
[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.28"]
[Round "13.3"]
[White "Rathnakaran K."]
[Black "Venkatesh M.R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B40"]
[WhiteElo "2447"]
[BlackElo "2464"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[WhiteClock "0:05:31"]
[BlackClock "0:05:50"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O Nge7 7. c3 e5 8. Be3 d6
9. a3 O-O 10. b4 b6 11. b5 Na5 12. c4 h6 13. Nc3 a6 14. bxa6 Rxa6 15. Rb1 Nac6
16. Qc1 Kh7 17. Nd2 f5 18. exf5 Bxf5 19. Nde4 Qd7 20. Nb5 Nc8 21. Re1 N6e7 22.
Re2 Be6 23. Reb2 Nf5 24. Nec3 Nce7 25. Bd2 Rc8 26. Nd5 Nxd5 27. cxd5 Bf7 28.
Be4 Be8 29. h4 h5 30. Bg5 Bf8 31. Qd1 Qf7 32. Nc3 Rxa3 33. Bd2 c4 34. Bg2 cxd3
35. Ne4 Be7 36. Bb4 Ra7 37. Qxd3 Rac7 38. Qa3 Rd8 39. Qa6 Rb8 40. Ba5 Rbc8 41.
Rxb6 Rc1+ 42. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 43. Kh2 Ra1 44. Rb7 Kh8 45. Qa7 Qf8 46. Rb8 Nh6 47. f3
Bxh4 48. Qa8 Bxg3+ 49. Nxg3 Qf4 50. Rxe8+ Kg7 51. Qb7+ Nf7 52. Qb4 Rxa5 53.
Qxa5 h4 54. Qe1 Nh6 55. Bh3 hxg3+ 56. Qxg3 Qd2+ 57. Kg1 Qc1+ 58. Kg2 Qd2+ 59.
Qf2 Qg5+ 60. Kh2 Qf4+ 61. Kh1 Qc1+ 62. Qf1 1-0

...Rathna has a legion of fans

Shyaamnikhil - Praneeth Surya

Praneeth could not keep pace with his own cracking form and lost his second consecutive game to...

...Shyaamnikhil P.
[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.28"]
[Round "13.4"]
[White "Shyaamnikhil P"]
[Black "K. Praneeth Surya"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2436"]
[BlackElo "2413"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[WhiteClock "0:36:26"]
[BlackClock "0:27:23"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 Ngf6 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 Bb7 8. Re1
c4 9. b3 e6 10. Qe2 Qc7 11. bxc4 bxc4 12. Na3 Rc8 13. Rb1 Ba8 14. d3 cxd3 15.
Bxd3 Nc5 16. Bxa6 Nxa6 17. Qxa6 Bxe4 18. Nb5 Qc6 19. Qxc6+ Rxc6 20. Nfd4 Rc8
21. Rb3 Kd7 22. Bg5 Bd5 23. c4 Bxc4 24. Ra3 Bxb5 25. Nxb5 Rc5 26. Ra7+ Kc6 27.
Nd4+ Kb6 28. Rxf7 Rxg5 29. Rb1+ Ka6 30. Nxe6 Re5 31. Nc7+ Ka5 32. Nd5 Be7 33.
Nxe7 Rc5 34. Nc8 Rc6 35. Ra7+ Ra6 36. Rxa6+ Kxa6 37. Nxd6 Rd8 38. Nf5 g6 39.
Ne3 Ne4 40. Rd1 Rb8 41. f3 Nc3 42. Rd2 Rb1+ 43. Kf2 Ra1 44. Nd5 Nxd5 45. Rxd5
Rxa2+ 46. Kg3 1-0

Abhijit Kunte - Deep Sengupta

 

Deep Sengupta settled for a draw with...

 

...Abhijit Kunte
[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.28"]
[Round "13.5"]
[White "Kunte Abhijit"]
[Black "Sengupta Deep"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2515"]
[BlackElo "2589"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[WhiteClock "0:21:06"]
[BlackClock "0:37:39"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. c4 Nf6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. e3 Bd7 8. Qe2
b5 9. b3 cxb3 10. axb3 Be7 11. Bd2 O-O 12. Rc1 Nd5 13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Ra7
15. Ne1 b4 16. Bd2 Nb8 17. Nc2 Bb5 18. Qe1 c5 19. dxc5 Bxc5 20. Bxb4 Nd7 21.
Na3 Qb6 22. Nxb5 axb5 23. Rxa7 Qxa7 24. Bxc5 Nxc5 25. Qc3 Nd7 26. Ra1 Qc5 27.
Qxc5 Nxc5 28. b4 Nd3 29. Rb1 Rc8 30. Bf1 Rc1 31. Rxc1 1/2-1/2

 

Swapnil Dhopade - Neelotpal Das

Swapnil Dhopade managed to beat...

Neelotpal Das
[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.28"]
[Round "13.6"]
[White "Swapnil S. Dhopade"]
[Black "Neelotpal Das"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2497"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.
Nxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. exd4 Nf6 12. Qb3 Bd6 13. Bg5 Qb6 14. Bxf6
Qxb3 15. axb3 gxf6 16. Ne1 Bc7 17. Nc2 Bb6 18. Rfd1 Bg4 19. Rd2 Kg7 20. Ne3 Be6
21. Be2 f5 22. f4 Rfd8 23. Kf2 Rac8 24. g3 Rd6 25. Bf3 a6 26. Ke2 Ba7 27. Rd3
Rcd8 28. Rc1 Rc6 29. Kd1 Rxc1+ 30. Kxc1 a5 31. Kc2 Rc8+ 32. Kd2 Rd8 33. Nc2 Rc8
34. Rc3 Rc6 35. Kd3 Rb6 36. b4 axb4 37. Rb3 Bd7 38. Rxb4 Bb5+ 39. Kd2 Bc6 40.
Rxb6 Bxb6 41. Kc3 Kf6 42. Ne3 Ke6 43. Bg2 h6 44. Bh3 Kf6 45. Bxf5 Ba5+ 46. b4
Bd8 47. Bg4 b6 48. Bc8 Kg6 49. h4 Kf6 50. Bg4 Bb7 51. Bf3 Ke6 52. Ng4 Be7 53.
Nxh6 f5 54. Bh5 Bc6 55. Bg6 Bf8 56. Nxf5 Be8 57. Bh7 Bh5 58. Ne3 Bf3 59. Bg8+
Kd6 60. g4 1-0

 

S.P. Sethuraman - P. Karthikeyan

Funnily, as it turned out later, Sethuraman could have become the champion had he managed to win his game because both the other results that mattered went his way -- M. Karthikeyan lost and Vidit drew!

However, he could not win his game against...

P. Karthikeyan
[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.28"]
[Round "13.7"]
[White "Sethuraman S.P."]
[Black "Karthikeyan P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2651"]
[BlackElo "2441"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 d6 7. c3 O-O 8. Re1
Re8 9. Nbd2 Bf8 10. Nf1 Bd7 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bh4 Be7 13. Ne3 b5 14. Bc2 Ng4 15.
Bxe7 Nxe7 16. a4 Nxe3 17. fxe3 Ng6 18. Rf1 c6 19. Bb3 Be6 20. Bxe6 Rxe6 21. Qb3
Qb6 22. d4 Rb8 23. axb5 axb5 24. Qa2 b4 25. c4 exd4 26. Nxd4 Rxe4 27. c5 Qxc5
28. Qxf7+ Kh7 29. Nf5 Qe5 30. Ra7 1/2-1/2

 

Final Ranking Crosstable:

Dear reader, we hope you enjoyed our coverage of this prestigious tournament. As with any endeavour, we will strive to improve our work for your chess infotainment and benefit.

 

We will bring you more reports with players' comments, important games and positions, and interview with the winner in the coming days.

All games in PGN.

 


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