IIFL Wealth 09: Nail-biter!

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 08/02/2016

A strong prize fund, a fabulous venue and a dedicated set of officials always mean a great chess tournament, which is precisely what IIFL Wealth Mumbai International tournament turned out to be! Raunak Sadhwani became the IIFL Wealth Mumbai International Junior Chess Champion 2016 while GM Swapnil Dhopade won the Open tournament by a half-point margin. We bring you a pictorial report with games and video-interview of the winners!

IIFL Wealth 09: Nail-biter!

Aditya Mittal had taken the lead after scamming Raunak in the seventh round from a bad position to hold a draw and crushing Shankarsha Shelke in the eighth round. He was well on his way to victory in the final round as well, as he thrashed his opponent Gukesh D. left and right, almost at will. This is when Gukesh's steely resolve began to show its true powers and Aditya began to err -- draw.

Meanwhile, Raunak Sadhwani blundered, yet managed to destroy his lower rated opponent.

Ridit Nimdia (1567) and Raunak Sadhwani (2104) give a naughty smile before their game

Sometimes, less knowledge is good!

Raunak was determined to win his point, but as it happened, he blundered, and then as he admitted after the game, he had no idea that his position wasn't good theoretically! He just kept attacking and won anyway.

What do they say about too many cooks spoiling the broth?

[Event "IIFL Wealth Mumbai Junior (U-13) Chess "]
[Site "Mount Litera School Internati"]
[Date "2016.02.05"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Sadhwani, Raunak"]
[Black "Nimdia, Ridit"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B96"]
[WhiteElo "2104"]
[BlackElo "1567"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2016.01.28"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Nbd7 8. Qf3
Qc7 9. O-O-O b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. Rhe1 Qb6 12. Nd5 Qxd4 13. Nc7+ (13. Bxf6 gxf6
14. Bxb5 Qc5 15. Nxf6+ Kd8 16. Nxd7 Qxb5 17. Nxf8 Rxf8 18. Qa3 {is the main
line.}) 13... Kd8 14. Nxa8 Qc5 15. Qg3 (15. Qh5 $1 e5 16. Qxf7 $11) 15... h6
16. Bh4 Bxa8 $17 17. e5 dxe5 18. f5 Bd5 19. fxe6 Bxe6 20. Qf3 g5 21. Bf2 Qc7
22. Bxb5 Bd5 $4 (22... Bd6 $11) 23. Rxd5 Nxd5 24. Bxd7 (24. Qxd5 axb5 $17)
24... Qxd7 25. Rd1 g4 26. Qb3 Bd6 27. Rxd5 Re8 28. Qb6+ Ke7 29. Bc5 Qf5 30.
Qxd6# 1-0

Despite getting a theoretically good position, Ridit (1567) lost his chance at glory fairly quickly, which brought the focus on the game of the round, and probably amongst the top-two in the tournament as...

...Mumbai lad Aditya Mittal took on Tamil Nadu's 'soft-spoken off the board but venomous on it' Gukesh D.

[Event "IIFL Wealth Mumbai Junior (U-13) Chess "]
[Site "Mount Litera School Internati"]
[Date "2016.02.05"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Gukesh, D."]
[Black "Aditya, Mittal"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "2041"]
[BlackElo "1960"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2016.01.28"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. e4 c5 2. d3 Nc6 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 d5 5. Nd2 Nf6 6. Ngf3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. c3
Qc7 9. Qe2 b5 10. e5 Nd7 11. Re1 a5 12. Nf1 Ba6 13. Bf4 b4 {Black is just
steaming ahead.} 14. h4 a4 15. a3 bxc3 16. bxc3 c4 17. d4 Rab8 18. Qc2 Rb3 19.
N3d2 Nb6 20. Nb1 Rb8 21. Ne3 Qd8 22. Qe2 Na7 23. Nd1 Qf8 24. Bc1 Na8 25. Qa2
Nc7 26. Nd2 R3b6 27. Qc2 Bb5 28. Ne3 Nc6 29. Ra2 Na5 30. f4 g6 31. Qd1 Bc6 32.
Nc2 Rb3 33. Re3 Nb5 34. Qf3 Nxa3 35. Nxa3 Bxa3 36. Nxb3 cxb3 37. Rxa3 Nc4 38.
Ra1 a3 39. Bxa3 Nxa3 40. c4 Nxc4 (40... Nc2 {Why not?!}) 41. Re2 b2 42. Rb1 Ba4
{threatening ...Bd1!!} 43. Qf2 Qa3 44. f5 Qa2 (44... gxf5 $19) 45. Rf1 gxf5 46.
Bxd5 Qa1 (46... exd5 47. Qxf5 b1=Q 48. Qxf7+ $11) 47. Rxb2 $1 Qxb2 48. Bxc4 Qc3
49. Ba6 Rb2 50. Qf4 Qa5 51. Bc4 Bc6 52. Rf2 Rb1+ 53. Rf1 Rxf1+ 54. Bxf1 Qd5 55.
Kf2 Kf8 56. Qh6+ Ke8 57. Qf4 Qh1 58. Be2 Qg2+ $11 1/2-1/2

Ice-cold and extremely alert despite being subjected to torture in a dismal position, and all this while playing two rounds a day -- he was among those few brave kids playing both Open and the Junior event. One cannot say much but take a bow to this nine-year-old (2042) who finished fourth.

Aditya Mittal (1960) was left smarting after letting Gukesh off the hook, but he had affected a similar save in the eighth round against Raunak.

The boy finished third. All is well that ends well?

The second board clash was equally important in terms of the standings

Dhanush Raghav (1656) played a crucial and crazy game with the top-seed and held an advantage for the most part of the game; until one bad king move left his rook in tears.

[Event "IIFL Wealth Mumbai Junior (U-13) Chess "]
[Site "Mount Litera School Internati"]
[Date "2016.02.05"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Dhanush, Ragav"]
[Black "Mohammad Fahad, Rahman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "1656"]
[BlackElo "2278"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2016.01.28"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8.
cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. a3 Nc6 11. b4 Be7 12. Qd2 Qb6 13. Rc1 a5 14. b5 Bxa3
15. bxc6 Bb4 16. Rc3 Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Qb1+ 18. Kd2 Bf5 (18... bxc6 $11) 19. Nd4 $2
(19. c7 $1 Qa2+ 20. Kd1 a4 21. Nd4 Bg6 22. Qd2 Qb1+ 23. Qc1 $16) 19... Bg6 $2 (
19... Qa2+ 20. Kd1 bxc6 21. Nxf5 Qb1+ 22. Kd2 Qxf5 $14) 20. Qb3 (20. cxb7 Qxb7
21. Bb5 $18) 20... Qxb3 21. Nxb3 bxc6 22. Nc5 $16 a4 23. Ba6 Ra7 24. Ra1 Bf5
25. Bb7 a3 26. Bd6 Re8 27. Kc3 a2 28. Kb3 Bb1 29. Kb4 (29. Kc3 {controlling d4
square.}) 29... d4 30. exd4 Rd8 31. Bc7 Rxd4+ 32. Kb3 Rd5 33. Bb6 Rxc5 34. Bxa7
Rb5+ 35. Kc3 Rxb7 36. Bc5 f6 37. Kc4 Kf7 38. Be3 Ke6 39. g3 Rb2 40. Kc3 Rc2+
41. Kb3 c5 42. h3 Kd5 43. h4 c4+ 44. Kb4 Rb2+ 45. Kc3 Rb3+ 46. Kd2 c3+ 47. Kc1
c2 48. Kd2 Ke4 49. Bf4 Rd3+ 50. Kc1 Rf3 0-1

Mohammad Fahad Rahman (2278) of Bangladesh managed to finish second after tying at 7.5/9 with Raunak and Aditya.

Adane Narayani (1355) was the best among the girls by miles as she finished seventh with 7.0/9

The current National U-11 Girls Champion Mrudul (1731) can see only chess!

Checking for blood spilled from the last punch

Aww-II

Juices and milkshakes were the second-most favoured energy drinks after the irreplaceable water.

He was interested in almost every game, as he would just walk by and stand beside every board, figuring out the position -- that's talent as well!

A tripod to keep his head straight in choppy positions?

Aditya Polakhare (1661) is an unusually intelligent kid -- apart from chess, he digs chess history and stories and idolizes Victor Bologan. Yes, you read that right.

After the games, Raunak and Aditya decided that their position was too horrible to be worth showing their face to us.

When asked what will he do with this much money, Raunak's reply was, "I did not qualify for the World Youth. I will use this money to play that."

Video Report with interview of Raunak:

Final Standings:

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	2	CM	Sadhwani Raunak			IND	2104	7,5	57,5	46,0	32,5
2	1	FM	Mohammad Fahad Rahman			BAN	2278	7,5	56,0	44,5	32,5
3	6	CM	Aditya Mittal			IND	1960	7,5	54,0	42,0	30,0
4	4	CM	Gukesh D			IND	2041	7,0	56,5	45,0	32,0
5	8		Shuban Saha			IND	1885	7,0	52,0	41,0	29,0
6	32		Adarsh Tripathi			IND	1518	7,0	51,5	41,0	30,5
7	44		Adane Narayani	w		IND	1355	7,0	49,0	38,5	28,0
8	3		Sankalp Gupta			IND	2068	7,0	49,0	38,5	27,5
9	7		Alok Sinha			IND	1894	7,0	47,5	37,5	27,5
10	5		Shelke Sankarsha			IND	2032	6,5	56,5	45,0	32,5

View the complete standings here.

IIFL Wealth Mumbai International Open 2016

The champion's walk: Swapnil won the tournament comfortably with 8.0/9 after drawing his final round game.

This is Swapnil's fourth tournament victory in the past four months. Swapnil discussed the tournament and his progress this last few months in this interview conducted in Hindi.

After conquering Manipal in December last year, Stany delivered another good performance and finished second with 7.5/9.

Just like Stany, Himal lost one game and was third with 7.0/9.

In the present, the past and the future...

One has to give credit to Amardeep Bartakke (2084) for rising up like a phoenix despite starting with losses and lost positions against players rated below him. He ended the tourney with a win over IM Nitin (2400) and a draw with GM Dhopade (2488) to finish tenth with 6.5/9.

Final Ranking:

k.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	2	IM	Swapnil S. Dhopade	IND	2488	8,0	56,0	43,5	31,0
2	3	IM	Stany G.A.	IND	2421	7,5	53,5	41,5	30,0
3	9		Gusain Himal	IND	2335	7,0	55,0	42,0	29,5
4	1	IM	Gagare Shardul	IND	2497	6,5	55,5	43,0	30,5
5	5	IM	Himanshu Sharma	IND	2385	6,5	53,5	42,0	30,0
6	6	IM	Ravi Teja S.	IND	2385	6,5	51,5	40,0	28,5
7	17		Abhishek Das	IND	2210	6,5	48,5	38,0	27,0
8	32		Bharambe Bhavik C	IND	2064	6,5	46,5	37,0	27,5
9	19	IM	Chakravarthi Reddy M	IND	2176	6,5	46,0	36,5	26,5
10	29		Bartakke Amardeep S.	IND	2084	6,5	45,0	33,0	23,0

View complete standing here.

GM Swapnil Dhopade with his king-sized trophy

The event was powered by the inexhaustible FI Praful Zaveri

Caption this! We will be highlighting the presentation ceremony in our final report some day in the coming weeks this month. Until then, you are free to provide us (comment below, maybe?) with witty captions for this picture of FIDE VP D.V. Sundar. The winner gets featured in the final report.

World's most charismatic man with IM Sagar Shah. Okay, stop throwing tomatoes.

I better print his picture out and keep it somewhere safe, so if a decade later the internet crashes and all the world is in utter chaos, I can show this picture to one and all!

The last few days witnessed a trio of quality chess tournaments, with the fourth beginning today at Bhubaneshwar. Chessbase India will bring you final reports of each of these tournaments with interviews, tactics, analysis and more after this series ends.

Previous Reports:

IIFL Wealth 01: bringing juniors under the spotlight

29/01/2016 - A strong prize fund, a fabulous venue and a dedicated set of officials always mean a great chess tournament, which is precisely what IIFL Wealth Mumbai International tournament is turning into! In both the Open and Junior events, the higher seeds did not face many difficulties in crushing their opponents; therefore, the tournament witnessed earth shatteringly normal results with not many upsets. We take this opportunity to bring you a richly illustrated report.

IIFL Wealth 02: calm before the storm?

30/01/2016 - There were no eye-popping results or games in the show, but one look at the tournament hall and you can say that the chess future of our country is safe. The IIFL Wealth Junior tournament and Open is off to a solid start in Bandra with some special add-ons such as live commentary, video reporting, ambient venue, etc. ChessBase India brings you an illustrated report.

IIFL Wealth 03+04: More grandmasters!

01/02/2016 - The story of the third and the fourth round was obviously Shardul becoming a grandmaster, but what Shardul has done unknowingly is make a some two hundred more kids dream of becoming like him. They say go big or go home. He has inspired them to take the bull by the horns and go for it. ChessBase India brings you a GIANT pictorial report with videos and important games.

IIFL Wealth 05: more than just a sport

02/02/2016 - Chess is not just about beating your opponent. It is more than just a sport -- it is an epicenter that brings people together. The IIFL Wealth Mumbai International in progress at Mount Litera School International is beginning to show people the real value that chess creates for the society. While a handful of kids share the lead in the Junior section, the Open saw its first sole leader in IM G.A. Stany, who has touched 5.0/5 and has kindly annotated his game for you. An illustrated report.

IIFL Wealth 06+07: Entertaining Chess!

05/02/2016 - Chess, entertainment, happiness -- the players and parents of the juniors at the IIFL Wealth Mumbai International and Junior Tournament are having a gala time as the event approaches its final leg. The Junior tournament has a handful of leaders, with no clarity on how the tournament will end while the Open saw G.A. Stany taking the lead by beating Shardul Gagare, but then losing to Swapnil Dhopade to allow him and Himal Gusain to share the lead with 6.5/7. An illustrated report.

IIFL Wealth 08: Aditya Mittal takes flight!

07/02/2016 - Aditya Mittal flew into the sole lead with a crushing victory over Sankarsha Shelke. Something similar happened in the Open as well, where Swapnil cleaned up Himal Gusain to become the sole leader. We bring you a pictorial report in black and white with analysis by Swapnil and Stany.

Photos for ChessBase India