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National challengers round 7: Railway GMs Swapnil and Himanshu maintain their stronghold

by Gopakumar Sudhakaran - 18/08/2017

After a quick draw against each other in round 6, GMs from team Railways, Himanshu Sharma and Swapnil Dhopade, continued slaying the field and won their games on board one and two respectively. While Himanshu annihilated the overnight co-leader, Sammed Jayakumar Shete; Dhopade vanquished the tournament's top seed, Aravindh Chithambaram. On the other boards, Akash PC Iyer, Udit Kamdar and Nikhil Dixit tickled the fancy of the spectators by upsetting their higher rated opponents. Full report with games and pictures.   

Decisive results on top two boards paved the way for Grandmasters Swapnil Dhopade and Himanshu Sharma to share the lead with six and a half points at the halfway stage of National Challengers Chess Championship at Karanvati Club here today.

Playing with white pieces, GM Himanshu Sharma essayed the exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez to get the better of the overnight joint leader Sammed Jayakumar Shete.

After a seemingly innocuous opening, the Haryanvi GM was able to get an edge in a middle-game that featured opposite wing castling. Storming his pieces to the queen side, Sharma attacked the 18-year-old’s king with all his might. Shete tried to reduce damage by forcing an exchange of queens. But by now, Sharma’s pieces were too active and were able to harvest too many of Black's pawns and win the game.  

[Event "55 National challengers"]
[Site "ChessKast.com"]
[Date "2017.08.17"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Himanshu Sharma"]
[Black "Sammed Jaykumar Shete"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C68"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:43:55"]
[BlackClock "0:01:30"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Qf6 6. d4 exd4 7. Bg5 Qd6 8.
Nxd4 Bd7 9. Nc3 Be7 10. Be3 O-O-O 11. f4 Nh6 12. h3 Rhe8 13. Qe2 Qf6 14. a3 Bc5
15. Rad1 Kb8 16. Qf2 Bb6 17. b4 Bf5 18. e5 Qg6 19. Nxf5 Nxf5 20. Bxb6 cxb6 21.
Qxb6 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Qg3 23. Ne4 Qe3+ 24. Qxe3 Nxe3 25. Rd7 f6 26. Nd6 Re6 27.
Rxb7+ Ka8 28. Rxg7 fxe5 29. fxe5 Rxe5 30. Rxh7 Nxc2 31. Rc7 Nd4 32. Nc4 Re2 33.
Rd7 Nf5 34. Na5 Rc2 35. Rc7 Nd4 36. h4 Kb8 37. Rf7 c5 38. h5 cxb4 39. axb4 Ne2+
40. Kh2 Rd2 41. Rf2 1-0

After a relatively slow start, tournament's top seed, Aravindh Chithambaram was trying to climb back to the top. But his advance was checked by the current joint leader, Swapnil Dhopade.  

The co-leader of the round, GM Swapnil Dhopade had a much tougher task in front of him if he wanted to maintain his leaderboard position. He was pitted against the top seed in the tournament, GM Aravindh Chithambaram.  In a Catalan game that lasted 79 moves, Dhopade, with the black pieces was able to generate an attack on Chithambaram’s king and force his opponent to give up an exchange. To add to Chithambaram’s misery, the Maharashtrian GM was also able to exchange queens soon after gaining a material advantage. The Chennai lad tried putting up a fight by sacrificing his bishop for two of Dhopade’s pawns. But this was a vain attempt. Dhopade remained with two rooks which easily overpowered his opponent’s one, while also keeping Chithambaram’s marching passers under lock and key.

[Event "55 National challengers"]
[Site "ChessKast.com"]
[Date "2017.08.17"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Aravindh Chithambaram Vr."]
[Black "Swapnil S. Dhopade"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E05"]
[PlyCount "158"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:06:22"]
[BlackClock "0:20:38"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Ne5 Nc6 8.
Nxc6 bxc6 9. Na3 Bxa3 10. bxa3 Nd5 11. Qa4 Nb6 12. Qa5 Bb7 13. Rd1 Qc8 14. e4
Rd8 15. Be3 Ba6 16. a4 Bb7 17. Rdc1 Rd7 18. Rab1 Qf8 19. h4 Qa3 20. h5 h6 21.
Bf3 Bc8 22. Bd1 Qd6 23. Bc2 f6 24. Bf4 Qe7 25. Be3 Rd8 26. Rd1 Re8 27. f4 f5
28. Re1 fxe4 29. Bxe4 Nd5 30. Bf2 Rd8 31. Re2 Qa3 32. Bg6 Qf3 33. Rbe1 Bd7 34.
Qc5 Qg4 35. Kh2 c3 36. Be4 Qxh5+ 37. Kg2 Qg4 38. Bxd5 exd5 39. Qxc3 Bf5 40.
Qxc6 Be4+ 41. Rxe4 dxe4 42. Rxe4 Qd7 43. Qc4+ Qd5 44. Qxd5+ Rxd5 45. Re7 Rc8
46. Kf3 Ra5 47. g4 Rxa4 48. f5 Ra3+ 49. Kf4 Rxa2 50. Bh4 Ra5 51. Ke4 Ra2 52.
Kf4 Ra5 53. Ke4 Ra2 54. Kf4 Rf8 55. Rxc7 g5+ 56. Bxg5 hxg5+ 57. Kxg5 Ra6 58. d5
Rf7 59. Rc8+ Kg7 60. Rd8 Rff6 61. Rd7+ Rf7 62. Rd8 Rff6 63. Rd7+ Kf8 64. Rc7
Rfd6 65. Rc5 Ke7 66. Kf4 Ra4+ 67. Kg5 Rd4 68. Rc7+ Rd7 69. Rc6 R7xd5 70. Re6+
Kf7 71. Rf6+ Kg7 72. Rg6+ Kf7 73. Rf6+ Ke7 74. Re6+ Kf8 75. Rf6+ Ke8 76. Re6+
Kd8 77. Ra6 Rd7 78. f6 Ke8 79. Kh5 R4d6 0-1

A pack of 13 players including second seed, S L Narayanan and third seed, Lalith Babu M R are chasing the leaders at 5.5 points. On the board three, GM Abhijit Kunte, who had conceded two draws in a row, gave up a full rook with the hope of delivering the knockout punch on his opponent's king. However, his opponent, Akash PC Iyer, defended with ice cold nerves to withstand this nightmare of an attack and walked out of the fire scot free.

[Event "55 National challengers"]
[Site "ChessKast.com"]
[Date "2017.08.17"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Akash Pc Iyer"]
[Black "Kunte Abhijit"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E46"]
[PlyCount "152"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:26:00"]
[BlackClock "0:25:46"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 c6 6. a3 Ba5 7. b4 Bc7 8. e4 e5
9. d5 d6 10. g3 cxd5 11. cxd5 a5 12. Rb1 axb4 13. axb4 Bb6 14. h3 Nh5 15. Na4
Bxf2+ 16. Kxf2 f5 17. Bg2 f4 18. Bf3 fxg3+ 19. Kg2 Rxf3 20. Kxf3 Qf6+ 21. Ke3
Qf2+ 22. Kd2 g2 23. Rg1 Ng3 24. Nac3 Bxh3 25. Qe1 Nf1+ 26. Kd1 Qf3 27. Kc2 Nd7
28. Qd1 Rc8 29. Qd3 Qg4 30. Rb3 Nh2 31. Kb2 Rf8 32. Nd1 Nf3 33. Be3 Nxg1 34.
Bxg1 Qh5 35. Nf2 Bg4 36. Ng3 Qh4 37. Nxg4 Qxg4 38. Nf5 Nf6 39. Nxd6 Nh5 40. Nf5
Nf4 41. Qf3 Qxf3 42. Rxf3 g6 43. Nh6+ Kg7 44. Ng4 Ne2 45. Rxf8 Kxf8 46. Bc5+
Ke8 47. Nxe5 g1=Q 48. Bxg1 Nxg1 49. Kc3 g5 50. Kd3 h5 51. Ke3 Ke7 52. Nf3 Nxf3
53. Kxf3 Kd6 54. Ke3 h4 55. Kf3 h3 56. Kg3 g4 57. Kh2 Ke5 58. Kg3 b6 59. Kh2
Kxe4 60. d6 Kf3 61. d7 g3+ 62. Kxh3 g2 63. d8=Q g1=Q 64. Qd5+ Kf4 65. Qc4+ Ke5
66. Qb5+ Ke4 67. Qc6+ Ke5 68. Qb5+ Kd6 69. Qd3+ Kc6 70. Qc4+ Kd6 71. Qd3+ Ke5
72. Qb5+ Ke4 73. Qc6+ Kd3 74. b5 Ke2 75. Kh4 Kd3 76. Kh3 Ke2 1/2-1/2

Little did Akash know at this point in the game that his Grandmaster opponent would throw everything but the kitchen sink to crash through to his king. But the young lad showed extraordinary resilience!  

In the other important games of the round, SL Narayanan got the better of Ram S Krishnan of BSNL

... while MR Lalith Babu outwitted Shashikant Kutwal in a closed Ruy Lopez 

Gujarat youngster, Udit Kamdar, continued his fine run in the tournament and moved to the joint second spot after holding International Master Swayams Mishra to a draw.

 

In the other surprising result of the day, Maharashtra youngster, Nikhil Dixit shocked Grandmaster Tejas Bakre to create yet another upset in the tournament.

In the crucial eighth round tomorrow, Swapnil takes on Narayanan while Himanshu will be dealing with Lalith Babu.

Results of Round 7

Bo.

No.

 

Name

Rtg

Pts.

Result

Pts.

 

Name

Rtg

No.

1

6

GM

Himanshu Sharma

2514

1 - 0

 

Sammed Jaykumar Shete

2277

34

2

1

GM

Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.

2579

5

0 - 1

GM

Swapnil S. Dhopade

2516

5

3

30

 

Akash Pc Iyer

2304

5

½ - ½

5

GM

Kunte Abhijit

2505

7

4

10

GM

Deepan Chakkravarthy J.

2466

5

½ - ½

5

IM

Das Arghyadip

2419

15

5

12

IM

Swayams Mishra

2455

5

½ - ½

5

 

Kamdar Udit

1947

96

6

2

GM

Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan

2564

1 - 0

 

Ram S. Krishnan

2214

43

7

36

IM

Shashikant Kutwal

2268

0 - 1

GM

Lalith Babu M R

2529

3

8

8

GM

Debashis Das

2493

1 - 0

IM

Chakravarthi Reddy M

2277

33

9

38

 

Sankalp Gupta

2254

½ - ½

IM

Shyaamnikhil P

2447

13

10

14

IM

Nitin S.

2421

½ - ½

 

Lokesh N.

2205

47

Rank after round 7

Rk.

SNo

 

Name

sex

FED

Rtg

Club/City

Pts.

 TB1 

 TB2 

 TB3 

 TB4 

 TB5 

1

6

GM

Himanshu Sharma

 

IND

2514

RSPB

6,5

0,5

31,0

35,0

31,75

6,0

2

5

GM

Swapnil S. Dhopade

 

IND

2516

RSPB

6,5

0,5

30,5

34,0

30,75

6,0

3

7

GM

Kunte Abhijit

 

IND

2505

PSPB

5,5

0,0

30,0

32,5

24,50

4,0

4

34

 

Sammed Jaykumar Shete

 

IND

2277

MAH

5,5

0,0

29,5

32,0

22,75

5,0

5

15

IM

Das Arghyadip

 

IND

2419

RSPB

5,5

0,0

29,0

33,0

25,25

4,0

6

12

IM

Swayams Mishra

 

IND

2455

AI

5,5

0,0

29,0

32,5

24,75

4,0

7

27

 

Fenil Shah

 

IND

2326

GUJ

5,5

0,0

29,0

32,5

24,25

4,0

8

23

WGM

Gomes Mary Ann

w

IND

2344

PSPB

5,5

0,0

29,0

32,5

23,50

5,0

9

96

 

Kamdar Udit

 

IND

1947

GUJ

5,5

0,0

28,5

31,0

23,25

4,0

10

10

GM

Deepan Chakkravarthy J.

 

IND

2466

RSPB

5,5

0,0

28,5

31,0

22,75

5,0

Round 8 Pairing

Bo.

No.

 

Name

Rtg

Pts.

Result

Pts.

 

Name

Rtg

No.

1

5

GM

Swapnil S. Dhopade

2516

 

GM

Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan

2564

2

2

3

GM

Lalith Babu M R

2529

 

GM

Himanshu Sharma

2514

6

3

7

GM

Kunte Abhijit

2505

 

IM

Swayams Mishra

2455

12

4

23

WGM

Gomes Mary Ann

2344

 

GM

Debashis Das

2493

8

5

27

 

Fenil Shah

2326

 

GM

Deepan Chakkravarthy J.

2466

10

6

15

IM

Das Arghyadip

2419

 

 

Akash Pc Iyer

2304

30

7

19

IM

Ravi Teja S.

2383

 

 

Sammed Jaykumar Shete

2277

34

8

96

 

Kamdar Udit

1947

 

5

GM

Narayanan Srinath

2524

4

9

38

 

Sankalp Gupta

2254

5

 

5

GM

Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.

2579

1

10

13

IM

Shyaamnikhil P

2447

5

 

5

 

Wagh Suyog

2234

41

                       


About the author:

Gopakumar became an A-grade International Arbiter during the FIDE Arbiter's Commission meeting. He is only the fifth Indian to achieve this feat. He was the chief arbiter at two 2600+ double round robin events, Asian Youth Chief Arbiter at South Korea, Deputy chief arbiter at Asian Youth and Asian Junior at New Delhi. He dedicates his success to the Air Force background that he comes from. 

Previous reports on National Challengers 2017:

Parthiv Patel at the opening ceremony

14-year-old holds Sriram Jha to a draw

National Challengers 2017 Round 2+3: Day of underdogs!

Mary Ann Gomes wins an instructive rook endgame

National Challengers Round 5+6: Swapnil, Himanshu, Sammed lead with 5.5/6