Aryan Chopra scores his final GM norm; Nubair & Viani become IMs

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 02/09/2016

In the recently concluded Abu Dhabi, 56 of the 137 players competing were Indians -- that is, close to 41% . From the country's point of view, the tournament was middle and bottom heavy, full of young talents searching for norms, titles, and rating points. And there were more than one reasons to cheer. Aryan Chopra completed his final GM norm and is not just four points away from the coveted title. Md. Nubairshah Shaikh and Antonio Viani D'cunha completed their IM title requirements. Read our brief report here.

Aryan Chopra scores his final GM norm; Nubair & Viani become IMs

He is a 14-year-young boy, and he is already contending for the title of grandmaster. Aryan Chopra, when you look at him, comes across as a studious young man with a penchant to excel. Only that his chosen field of expertise is not studies but chess. And he was not alone in Abu Dhabi.

GM-elect Aryan Chopra (2480) of Delhi [Photo: Delhi Chess Association]

Aryan started as the 41st seed in a strong field of 40 Grandmasters and 38 International Masters and finished at a creditable 14th place, also scoring his third GM norm. Aryan is on schedule to become India's 45th grandmaster, provided that his rating crosses the 2500 mark, which is a regulation four points away.

[Event "23rd Abu Dhabi Int. Chess Festival Mast"]
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2016.08.23"]
[Round "4.29"]
[White "Siva, Mahadevan"]
[Black "Aryan, Chopra"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2352"]
[BlackElo "2485"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2016.08.21"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[WhiteClock "0:46:30"]
[BlackClock "0:31:16"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O
dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Be2 Bb7 11. e4 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nh4 g6 14. f4 Neg4 15.
g3 Bc5+ 16. Kh1 Bd4 17. e5 c5+ 18. Ng2 Nf2+ 19. Rxf2 Bxf2 20. exf6 Re8 21. Bf1
Qd4 22. Bd2 Rad8 23. Rd1 Bf3 24. Be3 Qxe3 0-1

Aryan-Lalith (Round 07): White to play

White has a very good position, but Aryan's next move gave him a solidly advantageous position. What do you think Aryan should do?

Aryan receiving the norm certificate. [Photo: Delhi Chess Association]

The crucial moment came in the last round of the tournament when he was pitted against GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan (2613) of Armenia.

[Event "23rd Abu Dhabi Int. Chess Festival Mast"]
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2016.08.29"]
[Round "9.13"]
[White "Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel"]
[Black "Aryan, Chopra"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C70"]
[WhiteElo "2613"]
[BlackElo "2485"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2016.08.21"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. c3 d6 7. d4 Bd7 8. d5
Nce7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 10. c4 h6 11. Nc3 f5 12. Ne1 Nf6 13. Qe2 fxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4
15. Qxe4 c6 16. dxc6 Qxc6 17. Qxc6+ bxc6 18. b3 e4 19. Rb1 Nf5 20. Nc2 Kd7 21.
Rd1 Rhe8 22. Kf1 a5 23. Ke2 Re6 24. Be3 Rf6 25. Bd2 Rf7 26. Be1 h5 27. Kf1 Ke6
28. Kg1 d5 29. f3 d4 30. fxe4 Ne3 31. Nxe3 dxe3 32. Bg3 h4 33. Bd6 e2 34. Rd3
Raf8 35. Bxf8 Bxf8 36. g4 Bc5+ 37. Kg2 Rf2+ 38. Kh3 Rf1 0-1

Mumbai's Md. Nubairshah Shaikh (2415) also completed his final IM norm to become an International Master.

Also completing his IM title requirements by scoring the final norm and crossing the 2400 mark is Mangalore's first international master Antonio Viani D'cunha.

ChessBase India congratulates the youngsters for their success at the Abu Dhabi Tournament!