Isle of Man: Vidit misses his chance; Aravindh holds Naka
Pavel Eljanov concluded his brilliant campaign with a final draw against Wesley So, securing first place. Fabiano Caruana managed to level with him after beating Michael Adams in a big game but came second on tiebreak. For India, things were bitter-sweet. Vidit played a beautiful game but allowed a repetition due to the shortage of time. Harika entered world top-5 once again. Analyses, tactics and more. We have an illustrated report.
Photos by Harry Gielen
Isle of Man: Vidit misses his chance; Aravindh holds Naka
After an exciting finish to the final round, Fabiano Caruana of the USA and Pavel Eljanov were tied for the first place. Eljanov, with the better tiebreak, was declared the winner of the Isle of Man 2016.
Vidit Gujrathi finished 11th, while Harika won best women’s prize and gained 15 Elo in the process bringing her to world top 05 in women’s ranking. Aravindh Chithambaram played an exciting game against Hikaru Nakamura and held the American to a draw. Not to mention 11-year-old Praggu’s miniature against +2600 grandmaster. Enjoy...
Vidit Gujrathi had a fantastic tournament. In the final round, he missed his chance for a glorious finish.
In the beginning, a win in the final round would have ensured a strong finish for as well as a gain in Elo points.
Vidit-Granda Zuniga (Analysis by IM Sagar Shah)
[Event "chess.com IoM Masters"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.09"]
[Round "9.6"]
[White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Black "Granda Zuniga, Julio E"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2686"]
[BlackElo "2648"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.09"]
[Round "9.6"]
[White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Black "Granda Zuniga, Julio E"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2686"]
[BlackElo "2648"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
{A win in the last round would ensure a strong finish for Vidit as well as a
gain in Elo points.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 {Vidit often likes
to play the 4.Qc2 variation of the Nimzo Indian.} O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7.
Bg5 Bb7 8. e3 d6 9. Ne2 Nbd7 10. Qc2 c5 11. Rd1 Qc7 12. Nc3 a6 13. Bh4 Rac8 14.
dxc5 Qxc5 15. Qd2 {White surely has an edge in this position. The only problem
is the development of the f1 bishop and getting his king to safety.} d5 16.
cxd5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Qxd5 (17... Bxd5 {Keeping the queens on the board could
have been a better idea.} 18. Be2 Ne5 $11 (18... Bxg2 19. Rg1 Bd5 20. e4 Bc6
21. Bg3 $44)) 18. Qxd5 exd5 (18... Bxd5 19. e4 Bc6 20. Bxa6 $16) 19. Bd3 d4 20.
Bf5 Bxg2 21. Rg1 Bc6 22. exd4 Bb5 23. Kd2 Rfe8 24. Rde1 g6 25. Bh3 Rxe1 26.
Rxe1 Rc4 27. Re4 Nc5 28. dxc5 Rxe4 29. cxb6 Rd4+ 30. Kc3 Rd3+ (30... Rd6 31. b7
Rb6 32. Bc8 Bc6 33. Bd8 Bxb7 34. Bxb6 Bxc8 35. a4 {should most probably end in
a draw.}) 31. Kb4 Rd4+ 32. Kc3 (32. Kc5 {was the try to play for a win.} Rc4+
33. Kd5 Rc6 34. Bd8 $16) 32... Rd3+ 33. Kb4 Rd4+ 34. Kc3 Rd3+ 35. Kb4 {Short
of time, Vidit repeats the position thrice and the game ends in a draw.}
1/2-1/2
gain in Elo points.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 {Vidit often likes
to play the 4.Qc2 variation of the Nimzo Indian.} O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7.
Bg5 Bb7 8. e3 d6 9. Ne2 Nbd7 10. Qc2 c5 11. Rd1 Qc7 12. Nc3 a6 13. Bh4 Rac8 14.
dxc5 Qxc5 15. Qd2 {White surely has an edge in this position. The only problem
is the development of the f1 bishop and getting his king to safety.} d5 16.
cxd5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Qxd5 (17... Bxd5 {Keeping the queens on the board could
have been a better idea.} 18. Be2 Ne5 $11 (18... Bxg2 19. Rg1 Bd5 20. e4 Bc6
21. Bg3 $44)) 18. Qxd5 exd5 (18... Bxd5 19. e4 Bc6 20. Bxa6 $16) 19. Bd3 d4 20.
Bf5 Bxg2 21. Rg1 Bc6 22. exd4 Bb5 23. Kd2 Rfe8 24. Rde1 g6 25. Bh3 Rxe1 26.
Rxe1 Rc4 27. Re4 Nc5 28. dxc5 Rxe4 29. cxb6 Rd4+ 30. Kc3 Rd3+ (30... Rd6 31. b7
Rb6 32. Bc8 Bc6 33. Bd8 Bxb7 34. Bxb6 Bxc8 35. a4 {should most probably end in
a draw.}) 31. Kb4 Rd4+ 32. Kc3 (32. Kc5 {was the try to play for a win.} Rc4+
33. Kd5 Rc6 34. Bd8 $16) 32... Rd3+ 33. Kb4 Rd4+ 34. Kc3 Rd3+ 35. Kb4 {Short
of time, Vidit repeats the position thrice and the game ends in a draw.}
1/2-1/2
Vidit in the Endgame Magic Show
Yesterday, Vidit was in Hamburg with GM Karsten Mueller in the Endgame Magic Show
Mueller and Vidit discuss an assortment of endgames and teach you in an entertaining manner how to deal with them. You can watch the 90-minute show at videos.chessbase.com if you are a Premium Member.
Become a Premium Member for a year now for Rs. 1499/-!
GM Aravindh Chithambaram is known in Indian chess circles for his offbeat openings and unique style of play.
Known for his complicated and tactical style GM Hikaru Nakamura couldn’t create any problems for his 16-year-old Indian opponent.
Aravindh managed to stay alert enough to defend a draw, but with the white pieces.
Aravindh-Nakamura (Analysis by IM Sagar Shah)
[Event "chess.com IoM Masters"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.09"]
[Round "9.5"]
[White "Aravindh, Chithambaram VR"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2564"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.09"]
[Round "9.5"]
[White "Aravindh, Chithambaram VR"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2564"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Nbd7 8.
O-O Nc5 9. Bg5 Be7 10. Re1 O-O 11. Qf3 h6 12. Bh4 Nd5 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Rad1 b5
15. e5 d5 {Usually this structure is favourable for White. The c8 bishop
doesn't feel too comfortable. It would have been clearly better for Aravindh
if his bishop were on d3. As things stand, on b3 it is not so well placed,
staring down the f7-e6-d5 pawn chain.} 16. Nce2 f6 17. exf6 Rxf6 18. Qe3 Qd6
19. f4 Bd7 20. c3 Be8 21. g4 (21. Bc2 $1 {Getting the bishop to this nice
diagonal was a fine idea.}) 21... Bg6 22. Ng3 Re8 23. Rf1 Ref8 24. Rde1 Bd3 25.
Rf2 Be4 26. Ref1 Kh8 27. Bc2 Bxc2 28. Nxc2 Ng6 29. f5 $1 Ne5 30. fxe6 Rxf2 31.
Rxf2 Rxf2 32. Qxf2 Nxe6 (32... Nxg4 33. Qf5 $14) 33. Nf5 Qf8 34. Qg3 Qf6 35.
Nce3 {Aravindh has managed to meet blow for blow and has equalized the play.}
Ng5 36. Nxd5 Qf7 37. Nfe3 Qg6 38. Nf5 Nxg4 39. Nde7 (39. Qxg4 Nf3+ $19) 39...
Qb6+ 40. Nd4 Ne5 41. h4 Qc5 {A draw was agreed at this point. The position is
around equal.} (41... Qc5 42. hxg5 Qxe7 43. gxh6 gxh6 44. Nf5 Qg5 45. Qxg5 hxg5
46. Kg2 {and the players will anyway soon shake hands!}) 1/2-1/2
O-O Nc5 9. Bg5 Be7 10. Re1 O-O 11. Qf3 h6 12. Bh4 Nd5 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Rad1 b5
15. e5 d5 {Usually this structure is favourable for White. The c8 bishop
doesn't feel too comfortable. It would have been clearly better for Aravindh
if his bishop were on d3. As things stand, on b3 it is not so well placed,
staring down the f7-e6-d5 pawn chain.} 16. Nce2 f6 17. exf6 Rxf6 18. Qe3 Qd6
19. f4 Bd7 20. c3 Be8 21. g4 (21. Bc2 $1 {Getting the bishop to this nice
diagonal was a fine idea.}) 21... Bg6 22. Ng3 Re8 23. Rf1 Ref8 24. Rde1 Bd3 25.
Rf2 Be4 26. Ref1 Kh8 27. Bc2 Bxc2 28. Nxc2 Ng6 29. f5 $1 Ne5 30. fxe6 Rxf2 31.
Rxf2 Rxf2 32. Qxf2 Nxe6 (32... Nxg4 33. Qf5 $14) 33. Nf5 Qf8 34. Qg3 Qf6 35.
Nce3 {Aravindh has managed to meet blow for blow and has equalized the play.}
Ng5 36. Nxd5 Qf7 37. Nfe3 Qg6 38. Nf5 Nxg4 39. Nde7 (39. Qxg4 Nf3+ $19) 39...
Qb6+ 40. Nd4 Ne5 41. h4 Qc5 {A draw was agreed at this point. The position is
around equal.} (41... Qc5 42. hxg5 Qxe7 43. gxh6 gxh6 44. Nf5 Qg5 45. Qxg5 hxg5
46. Kg2 {and the players will anyway soon shake hands!}) 1/2-1/2
The 18-year-old scored 5.5/9 and gained 14 Elo in the process. [Photo: Mike Klein]
GM S.L. Narayanan faced GM Peter Leko in the final round. It was a game of Queen’s Gambit Declined. An interesting position arose in the middlegame between two knights vs two bishops. Narayanan's solid play ensured him a draw.
Narayanan-Leko (Analysis by IM Sagar Shah)
[Event "chess.com IoM Masters"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.09"]
[Round "9.10"]
[White "Sunilduth Lyna, Narayanan"]
[Black "Leko, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2536"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.09"]
[Round "9.10"]
[White "Sunilduth Lyna, Narayanan"]
[Black "Leko, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2536"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8.
Qxc3 Nxc5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 10. Be3 Nce4 11. Qe5 Qxe5 12. Nxe5 Nd5 13. Bc1 Bd7 14.
f3 Nc5 15. e4 Nb3 16. Rb1 Nb6 17. Nxd7 Kxd7 18. Be3 Rac8 19. Be2 Ke7 {It is a
very interesting position between two knights vs two bishops. White has a
small edge but the knight on b3 covers quite some important squares. Mostly
one of the bishops will be exchanged for the knight and the game will end in
equality.} 20. O-O Rhd8 21. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Nc4 23. Bxb3 Nxe3 24. Kf2 Nc4
25. Rc1 b5 26. Ke2 (26. Bxc4 $5 Rxc4 (26... bxc4 27. b3 $16 {seems to be
better for White.}) 27. Rxc4 bxc4 28. Ke3 e5 29. Kd2 Kd6 $17 {Can only be
better for Black.}) 26... Kd6 27. Rd1+ Ke7 28. Rc1 Kd6 29. Rd1+ Ke7 30. Rc1 Kd6
31. Rd1+ {A solid draw for S.L.Narayanan against a world class opponent like
Peter Leko. The 18-year-old had a great tournament.} 1/2-1/2
Qxc3 Nxc5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 10. Be3 Nce4 11. Qe5 Qxe5 12. Nxe5 Nd5 13. Bc1 Bd7 14.
f3 Nc5 15. e4 Nb3 16. Rb1 Nb6 17. Nxd7 Kxd7 18. Be3 Rac8 19. Be2 Ke7 {It is a
very interesting position between two knights vs two bishops. White has a
small edge but the knight on b3 covers quite some important squares. Mostly
one of the bishops will be exchanged for the knight and the game will end in
equality.} 20. O-O Rhd8 21. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Nc4 23. Bxb3 Nxe3 24. Kf2 Nc4
25. Rc1 b5 26. Ke2 (26. Bxc4 $5 Rxc4 (26... bxc4 27. b3 $16 {seems to be
better for White.}) 27. Rxc4 bxc4 28. Ke3 e5 29. Kd2 Kd6 $17 {Can only be
better for Black.}) 26... Kd6 27. Rd1+ Ke7 28. Rc1 Kd6 29. Rd1+ Ke7 30. Rc1 Kd6
31. Rd1+ {A solid draw for S.L.Narayanan against a world class opponent like
Peter Leko. The 18-year-old had a great tournament.} 1/2-1/2
IM R. Praggnanandhaa set the social media ablaze with his 18-move candy made up of Axel Bachmann (2645).
GM Dronavalli Harika received Best Women's prize. She scored 5.5/9 and her rating shot up to 2543.4.
All smiles!
Tact Tricks :
(Answers will be updated after 18 hours)
Harika-Hou: white to move
Shardul-Balint: white to move
Nino-Arghyadip: white to move
Herbold-Nirupama: white to move
Alejandro-Karthik: white to move
Performance Overview (Indians)
| SNo | Name | Rtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pts. | Rk. | Rp | K | rtg+/- | Group | |
| 9 | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | 2686 | IND | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 6,0 | 11 | 2700 | 10 | 2,60 | Master |
| 23 | GM | Gupta Abhijeet | 2626 | IND | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5,5 | 25 | 2574 | 10 | -4,60 | Master |
| 28 | GM | Lalith Babu M R | 2586 | IND | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5,5 | 28 | 2467 | 10 | -11,40 | Master |
| 32 | GM | Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. | 2564 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 6,0 | 19 | 2562 | 10 | 0,80 | Master |
| 33 | GM | Shyam Sundar M. | 2552 | IND | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 5,0 | 44 | 2454 | 10 | -10,20 | Master |
| 35 | GM | Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan | 2536 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 5,5 | 30 | 2650 | 10 | 14,70 | Master |
| 36 | GM | Harika Dronavalli | 2528 | IND | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 5,5 | 31 | 2650 | 10 | 15,40 | Master |
| 37 | GM | Vishnu Prasanna. V | 2522 | IND | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5,5 | 32 | 2548 | 10 | 3,80 | Master |
| 43 | GM | Gagare Shardul | 2480 | IND | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5,0 | 48 | 2411 | 10 | -7,80 | Master |
| 45 | IM | Puranik Abhimanyu | 2471 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5,5 | 35 | 2500 | 10 | 4,90 | Master |
| 52 | IM | Visakh N R | 2456 | IND | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5,0 | 51 | 2423 | 10 | -2,70 | Master |
| 54 | IM | Praggnanandhaa R | 2442 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5,5 | 38 | 2529 | 10 | 12,00 | Master |
| 55 | GM | Sundararajan Kidambi | 2429 | IND | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5,5 | 39 | 2503 | 10 | 10,40 | Master |
| 60 | IM | Karavade Eesha | 2421 | IND | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 5,0 | 54 | 2487 | 10 | 9,10 | Master |
| 62 | IM | Tania Sachdev | 2414 | IND | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5,5 | 40 | 2533 | 10 | 16,90 | Master |
| 64 | IM | Das Arghyadip | 2400 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4,5 | 65 | 2373 | 10 | -0,70 | Master |
| 71 | Hemant Sharma (del) | 2371 | IND | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 4,5 | 68 | 2456 | 20 | 22,20 | Master | |
| 72 | Harsha Bharathakoti | 2363 | IND | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 4,0 | 79 | 2355 | 20 | -2,80 | Master | |
| 82 | FM | Karthik Venkataraman | 2317 | IND | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4,5 | 72 | 2378 | 20 | 14,00 | Master |
| 93 | FM | Rakesh Kumar Jena | 2247 | IND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3,5 | 101 | 2247 | 20 | -3,60 | Master |
| 97 | WIM | Parnali S Dharia | 2228 | IND | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 3,0 | 114 | 2200 | 20 | -8,80 | Master |
| 110 | AGM | Vardan Nagpal | 2117 | IND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 4,0 | 95 | 2192 | 40 | 29,60 | Master |
| 115 | FM | Tiwari Ashwani | 2090 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 2,5 | 122 | 2001 | 20 | -24,80 | Master |
| 126 | WIM | Gagare Shalmali | 1989 | IND | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 3,5 | 109 | 2240 | 20 | 41,00 | Master |
| 127 | WFM | Swati Mohota | 1948 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 3,0 | 119 | 2063 | 20 | 20,80 | Master |
| 128 | WFM | Kotepalli Sai Nirupama | 1944 | IND | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3,5 | 110 | 2128 | 20 | 34,20 | Maste |
International Report by Albert Silver