Ian Nepomniachtchi wins 10th Gashimov Memorial, Aravindh Chithambaram third in Blitz
Ian Nepomniachtchi scored 19/28 to win 10th Gashimov Memorial 2024. It was his first appearance in this prestigious event. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) continued his fantastic form from 45th Olympiad. He maintained his pursuit till the very end. However, he fell one point short and finished second 18/28. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) also remained in the chase. His score 16/28 earned him a third place finish. Aravindh Chithambaram made an impressive Super GM tournament debut. He scored 8/14 in the Blitz event to finish third. His overall score 13/28 put him in the sixth place. Aravindh handed Abdusattorov his sole loss in the Blitz event. Apart from Nepomniachtchi and Mamedyarov, Aravindh defeated the remaining five players at least once out of three games. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Aravindh makes a fantastic Super GM tournament debut
India's first triple crown champion, GM Aravindh Chithambaram was a last-minute replacement of the defending champion, GM Vidit Gujrathi. Aravindh did not get a lot of time to prepare. Considering that and also this being his debut Super GM tournament, Aravindh did really well. He seized his opportunity. He either drew or won against his seven opponents, only two players he could not beat in three games. The evntual champion, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Organizers left no stone unturned to ensure Aravindh's arrival in the tournament and do a world-class arrangement for the tenth anniversary edition.
Round 1: Abdusattorov - Aravindh: 0.5-0.5
GM Aravindh Chithambaram lost the Rapid game in the first round against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB). However in Blitz, he showed his resourcefulness even in a difficult endgame.
45...Qg5+ is the only way forward 46.Kf2 Qh4+ 47.Kf1 Qf4+ now 48.Ke1 would have been winning for White. However, 48.Rf2 allowed Black to escape with a draw via perpetual check Qc1+
World Rapid 2013 champion, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2710) needed only 19 moves to beat his compatriot Rauf Mamedov (AZE, 2638) in the second round.
Aravindh - Rapport, Round 2
Aravindh won a nice game against Richard Rapport (HUN, 2703) who had a forgettable Blitz event. White started capturing Black's d5-pawn to loosen up the knight which eventually cost Black the hopping piece. 21.cxd5 Rac8 22.Qe2 maintaining target on the knight Bg6 23.d6 Rcd8 24.Be5 running interference Rxe5 25.Nxe5 Bh5 26.g4 Qxe5 27.Rxe4 and Black resigned as he is losing too much material.
Round 3: Abdusattorov - Nepomniachtchi: 1-0
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2684) handed Ian Nepomniachtchi (2766) his first loss of the day.
16.Rxb7! is a temporary exchange sacrifice as White regains the exchange in the following move. 16...Bxb7 17.Bxb7 Rc6 18.Bxc6 Nxc6 19.Qg4 White rapidly improved his position and Black made an incorrect pawn push in time trouble which deteriorated his position further.
Rauf - Aravindh
Aravindh made a nice fork 26...Ne3! 27.Bxe3 fxe3 28.Kh1 Nd2 White sacrificed an exchange 29.Rxd2 exd2 30.cxd5 cxd5 31.Qxd2 e4 Black went on to convert his material advantage into a win comfortably.
Rauf Mamedov (AZE) is the sole player Ian Nepomniachtchi could not beat in a single game out of the three. Rauf won the Rapid encounter, drew the first Blitz game and won the second.
Round 13: Aravindh - Nepomniahtchi: 0-1
Aravindh got himself a good decisive advantage when his opponent went for an incorrect chain exchange. However, Nepomniachtchi later equalized. In the endgame, Aravindh blundered a knight in one move. He still had chances of a draw, albeit a difficult time but he could not find it and he lost.
Lots of exciting games will be published soon, stay tuned.
Photo Gallery
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Replay all Blitz games
Time Control
The Rapid tournament will be played in 15 minutes + 10 seconds increment. The Blitz event will have 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment.
Scoring
Rapid: Win 2 points, Draw 1 point and Loss 0.
Blitz: Win 1 point, Draw 0.5 point and Loss 0.
Tie-break rules
The final standings will be determined according to sum of points of both Rapid and Blitz events.
Final standings in Blitz
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | UZB | 2684 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 62,75 |
| 2 | 1 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FID | 2766 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 59,25 |
| 3 | 6 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2586 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 48,75 |
| 4 | 7 | GM | Suleymanli, Aydin | AZE | 2580 | 7,5 | 0 | 6 | 47,50 |
| 5 | 8 | GM | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | AZE | 2710 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 43,50 |
| 6 | 2 | GM | Artemiev, Vladislav | FID | 2808 | 6,5 | 0 | 3 | 42,50 |
| 7 | 5 | GM | Mamedov, Rauf | AZE | 2638 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 31,00 |
| 8 | 4 | GM | Rapport, Richard | HUN | 2737 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 22,25 |
Final standings Overall (Rapid and Blitz combined)
Links
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Ian Nepomniachtchi tops 10th Gashimov Memorial 2024 Rapid
@ 27/09/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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10th Gashimov Memorial 2024 Rapid R1-3: Aravindh Chithambaram bests Rauf Mamedov after a rough start
@ 26/09/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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Aravindh Chithambaram will make his super GM tournament debut at 10th Gashimov Memorial 2024
@ 25/09/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |