Kishan gains a full point lead
Hariharan - Kishan, Round 7
15.Bxe4 would have indirectly prevented f5 being that much effective for Black. Kishan seized his advantage 15...Nxe4 16.Qxe4 f5 17.Bc4+ Kh8 18.Qh4 e4 19.Be3? invited more trouble f4 20.Bc1 Rf5 21.f3 e3 and Black went on to convert his advantage into a win. With Soundarya sharing the point against Somender B L (1500), Kishan gained a half point lead over him 6.5/7.
Aryan - Darpan, Round 7
Darpan Inani (2027) was winning for the better part of the knight endgame against Aryan Joshi (1874). 73...Kxa2 is a big mistake as it allowed White to escape with a draw. Find out how White can save the game and what Black should have done instead to score the full point.
In the penultimate round, Soundarya Kumar Pradhan (1880) made a crucial mistake of exchanging both rooks against Aryan Joshi which allowed the latter to free up his knight.
Soundarya - Aryan, Round 8
It goes without saying that White's position is certainly not easy to play. The only thing going for White is the f6-pawn which is the keeping the h7-knight at bay. 23.Rfe2 was a critical error on White's part as he not only lost the f6-pawn but also lost the sole leverage he had 23...Rxe2+ 24.Rxe2 Rxe2 25.Qxe2 Nxf6. The combination of queen and knight is much stronger than a queen and bishop especially when the center is locked. Aryan won the game eventually. Kishan drew with Milind Samant (1632) which means Kishan gained a full point lead heading into the final round.
A total of 51 players are taking part from various states across India. The tournament is organized by All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) from 13th to 18th March 2023 at Bhayander, Maharashtra. The nine-round Swiss league tournament has a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.
Replay Round 6-8 games
Round 8 results
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||
| 1 | 1 | Kishan, Gangolli | 2113 | 6½ | ½ - ½ | 5 | Samant, Milind | 1632 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 3 | Soundarya, Kumar Pradhan | 1880 | 6 | 0 - 1 | 5 | Aryan, B Joshi | 1874 | 4 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 13 | Marimuthu, K | 1599 | 5 | ½ - ½ | 5½ | Somender, B L | 1500 | 16 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 9 | Makwana, Ashvin K | 1670 | 5 | 1 - 0 | 5 | Patra, Subhendu Kumar | 1775 | 5 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 2 | Darpan, Inani | 2027 | 4½ | 1 - 0 | 4½ | Hariharan, Gandhi | 1428 | 18 | PGN | ||
| 6 | 8 | Swapanil, Shah | 1689 | 4½ | 1 - 0 | 4½ | Shidad, M | 1425 | 19 | PGN | ||
| 7 | 25 | Venkat, Reddy S | 1334 | 4½ | 1 - 0 | 4½ | Prachurya, Kumar Pradhan | 1608 | 12 | PGN | ||
| 8 | 37 | Shah, Saiyam Kamleshbhai | 1279 | 4 | 0 - 1 | 4 | Saikrishna, S. T. | 1757 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 9 | 31 | Gopi, R | 1313 | 4 | 0 - 1 | 4 | Patil, Shirish | 1622 | 11 | PGN | ||
| 10 | 15 | Mayank, Sharma | 1501 | 4 | 1 - 0 | 4 | Amal Sardar, | 0 | 51 | PGN |
Standings after Round 8
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | 1 | Kishan, Gangolli | IND | 2113 | KAR | 7 | 38 | 42 | 36,25 | |
| 2 | 16 | Somender, B L | IND | 1500 | DEL | 6 | 38,5 | 41,5 | 28,75 | |
| 3 | 4 | Aryan, B Joshi | IND | 1874 | MAH | 6 | 38 | 42 | 30,00 | |
| 4 | 3 | Soundarya, Kumar Pradhan | IND | 1880 | ODI | 6 | 37,5 | 40,5 | 28,00 | |
| 5 | 9 | Makwana, Ashvin K | IND | 1670 | GUJ | 6 | 34,5 | 37,5 | 26,25 | |
| 6 | 2 | Darpan, Inani | IND | 2027 | GUJ | 5,5 | 34 | 36,5 | 22,25 | |
| 7 | 10 | Samant, Milind | IND | 1632 | MAH | 5,5 | 33,5 | 36,5 | 23,00 | |
| 8 | 25 | Venkat, Reddy S | IND | 1334 | A P | 5,5 | 33,5 | 36 | 22,25 | |
| 9 | 8 | Swapanil, Shah | IND | 1689 | MAH | 5,5 | 32,5 | 35 | 22,00 | |
| 10 | 13 | Marimuthu, K | IND | 1599 | T N | 5,5 | 32 | 34 | 21,00 |
Round 9 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 9 | Makwana, Ashvin K | 1670 | 6 | 7 | Kishan, Gangolli | 2113 | 1 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Aryan, B Joshi | 1874 | 6 | 6 | Somender, B L | 1500 | 16 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Soundarya, Kumar Pradhan | 1880 | 6 | 5½ | Swapanil, Shah | 1689 | 8 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Darpan, Inani | 2027 | 5½ | 5½ | Venkat, Reddy S | 1334 | 25 | |||
| 5 | 10 | Samant, Milind | 1632 | 5½ | 5½ | Marimuthu, K | 1599 | 13 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Patra, Subhendu Kumar | 1775 | 5 | 5 | Mayank, Sharma | 1501 | 15 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Saikrishna, S. T. | 1757 | 5 | 5 | Patil, Shirish | 1622 | 11 | |||
| 8 | 29 | Akediwala, Prince D | 1314 | 5 | 4½ | Kavlekar, Sanjay R. | 1730 | 7 | |||
| 9 | 12 | Prachurya, Kumar Pradhan | 1608 | 4½ | 4½ | Shidad, M | 1425 | 19 | |||
| 10 | 22 | Deshpande, Amit | 1389 | 4½ | 4½ | Hariharan, Gandhi | 1428 | 18 |
