IIFL Wealth 01: bringing juniors under the spotlight

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 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 01: bringing juniors under the spotlight

A relatively high prize fund of fifteen lakh rupees, an ambient venue in the form of Mout Litera School International, a dedicated team of organising and technical support officials supported by a decent set of arbiters -- the IIFL Wealth Mumbai International Tournament was off to a well-received start at Bandra in Mumbai.

The absolute top seeds did not face many difficulties in crushing their opponents; therefore, the tournament witnessed earth shatteringly normal results with not many upsets.

IM Shardul Gagare (2497) successfully completed his first step towards the GM title by defeating Om Kharola (1803).

GM Swapnil Dhopade (2488)

IM G.A. Stany's (2421) opponent dragged the game for a wee bit while, but the result was no in questions.

IM S. Nitin (2400)

IM Himanshu Sharma (2385)

IM Ravi Teja (2385) had to work a bit to win his game

IM Akshat Khamparia (2366)

IM Dinesh Kumar Sharma (2358)

Himal Gusain (2335)

IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni (2297)

IM Sharad Tilak (2289) is playing in an Open after quite some time. He was held to a draw by...

...12-year-old Aan Sikka (1678)

Chennai boy Al Muthiah (2272)

The Audi brothers: In the front is Saiesh (1457) and Ameya (2061)

62-year-old Neelakantan Narayanan (1942) has been a brave warrior on the chessboard all his life. The former National A player has a flair for playing interesting chess.

For example, here is his decimation of former women's world champion GM Antoneta Stefenova that left her shell-shocked:

Stefanova-Neelakantan, Goodricke Tournament 1998

[Event "Goodricke Int Calcutta IND"]
[Site "03"]
[Date "1998.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Antoaneta Stefanova"]
[Black "Narayanan Neelakantan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[EventDate "1998.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. dxc5 e6 4. e4 Bxc5 5. exd5 exd5 6. Bb5+ Nc6 7. O-O Nf6 8.
Nd4 O-O 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. Nxc6 Qd6 11. Nd4 Ng4 12. g3 Ne5 13. Be3 Bh3 14. Nc3
Bxf1 15. Nf5 Qf6 16. Bxc5 Qxf5 17. Bxf8 Bh3 18. f4 Bg4 19. Nxd5 Qe4 0-1

Yesterday, he got in this famous Levenfish attack trap to win Black's queen

Ankur Gokhale (1576) accounted for Sanjeev Kumar (2156)

The food available at the school canteen was certainly an attractive addition to the quality of the tournament!

Pairings for Round 02:

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	IM	Gagare Shardul	2497	1		1		Shelke Sankarsha	2032	36
2	35	CM	Gukesh D	2041	1		1	IM	Swapnil S. Dhopade	2488	2
3	3	IM	Stany G.A.	2421	1		1		Adhithya S	2018	38
4	37		Kothari Swapnil	2025	1		1	IM	Nitin S.	2400	4
5	5	IM	Himanshu Sharma	2385	1		1	WIM	Parnali S Dharia	2002	40
6	39		Manush Shah	2003	1		1	IM	Ravi Teja S.	2385	6
7	7	IM	Akshat Khamparia	2366	1		1		Gavi Siddayya	1971	42
8	41		Ojas Kulkarni	2000	1		1	IM	Sharma Dinesh K.	2358	8
9	9		Gusain Himal	2335	1		1		Harsh Mangesh Ghag	1964	43
10	11	IM	Kulkarni Vikramaditya	2297	1		1		Arjun Adappa	1960	44

View the complete pairing for Round 02 here.

Complete results of Round 01.

Watch the games LIVE by clicking the above link.

IIFL Wealth Mumbai Junior Championship 2016

For the junior players aged below thirteen, the event was a fantastic opportunity to play 18 rated games in a space of nine days in an atmosphere unmatched in terms of infrastructure and quality. Again, 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 top-seed, 12-year-old Bangladesh's FM Mohammad Fahad Rahman (2278), was off to a winning start.

Raunak Sadhwani (2104) of Maharashtra had an easy day at work as well.

Another Maharashtra boy Sankalp Gupta (2068) recently defeated Italian GM David Alberto (2596) in Delhi.

Tamil Nadu's Gukesh D. (2041)

Another Maharashtrian talent Sankarsha Shelke (2032)

Mumbai's Aditya Mittal (1960) has been on a giant-killing spree this month. It would be interesting to see how he performs amongst his peers.

Among the many kids playing in both the Open and the Junior event are Dev Shah (1732) of Mumbai and...

...Luke Mendonca (1859) of Goa

...who, by the way, is as naughty as he is cute.

Speaking of cuteness, visit the tournament hall and you will just fall in love with these kids!

You must respect their love for the game. These small kids are barely able to reach the other side of the chessboard and yet they think strategy and tactics.

Pairings for Round 02:

Bo.	No.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	1	FM	Mohammad Fahad Rahman	BAN	2278	1		1		Vincent Alaina	IND	1362	43
2	44		Adane Narayani	IND	1355	1		1	CM	Sadhwani Raunak	IND	2104	2
3	3		Sankalp Gupta	IND	2068	1		1		Gavade Atharv	IND	1355	45
4	48		Bhuta Hriday	IND	1315	1		1	CM	Gukesh D	IND	2041	4
5	5		Shelke Sankarsha	IND	2032	1		1		Antony Jesumarian Leslie	IND	1316	47
6	50		Kannan Pranav	IND	1313	1		1	CM	Aditya Mittal	IND	1960	6
7	7		Alok Sinha	IND	1894	1		1		Avathanshu Bhat	IND	1313	49
8	53		Jain Ashwat	IND	1287	1		1		Shuban Saha	IND	1885	8
9	9	CM	Mendonca Leon Luke	IND	1859	1		1		Kriti Mayur Patel	IND	1313	51
10	54		Vansh Agarwal	IND	1286	1		1		Om Kharola	IND	1803	10

View the complete pairing for Round 02 here.

Complete results of Round 01.

Watch the games LIVE by clicking the above link.

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