chessbase india logo

23rd Dubai Open 2023 R1-2: Aravindh, Abhijeet and Adhiban at 2/2

by Shahid Ahmed - 29/05/2023

Aravindh Chithambaram, B Adhiban and Abhijeet Gupta are the only three Indians among the 13 players at 2/2. The 23rd Dubai Open 2023 Category A (>2200) has a total of 81 players, 47 of them are GMs. That definitely speaks volumes about the strength of the tournament. Aravindh prevailed over Karthik Venkataraman in a battle of the reigning National champions. It seemed like Karthik should be able to hold a draw when he blundered in the final moments of the endgame. Abhimanyu Mishra (USA) attempted to provide a futile resistance in a rook and opposite color bishop endgame which seemed Abhijeet's win to be a matter of eventuality. Adhiban defeated WIM Tijana Mandura (SRB) comfortably. Round 3 starts today at 5 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

A strong start

When a tournament has a strong lineup, there are bound to be tough battles from the very beginning of the event. The total prize fund of the tournament is US$ 52000. Category A has a total prize fund of $39500. The top three prizes are $12000 + trophy, $8000 and $6000.

Aravindh Chithambaram got the better of Karthik Venkataraman

Arjun - Rithvik, Round 1

Position after 27.Bxe4

GM Raja Rithvik R's (2476) bold approach almost work against GM Arjun Erigaisi (2701) as he got himself a good position. 27...Qd6 would have forced the exchange of queens to keep the c4-pawn from getting captured. The key difference between a direct 27...Bxd2 and after Qd6 is, Bxd2 right now does not force a trade of another rook or queen, however, 27...Qd6 does. 27...Bxd2 28.Qxd2 now Black neither has Rxb1 nor Qd6. White turned things around and went on to win the game.

GM Arjun Erigaisi won an intriguing game against GM Raja Rithvik R

Karthik - Aravindh, Round 2

Position after 73...Rf5+

The back and forth game between the reigning National champion, GM Karthik Venkataraman (2528) and the current three-time National Rapid and Blitz champion, GM Aravindh Chithambaram (2633) reached a critical moment in the above position. White needs to move his king. Where should the king go - away or closer to the g3-pawn? If you are searching for the correct answer, it is away. 74.Kd4?? met with Nf4-+ and unfortunately White pieces do not have enough breathing space to avoid the exchange.

Battle of the National champions - Aravindh got his fifth win against Karthik in rated games

Battle of the 44th Olympiad Gold medalists: Round 1: IM Nataliya Buksa (UKR) - GM Jakhongir Vakhidov (UZB): 1-0

Round 2: GM Aditya Mittal - GM Shant Sargsyan (ARM): 0.5-0.5

Photo Gallery

Bird's eye view of the top board

Round 1 in progress

The tournament hall at Dubai Chess & Culture Club

For more Round 1 and Round 2 photos, please click here.

Final moments: GM Hans Niemann (USA) vs GM Vugar Asadli (AZE) | Video: ChessBase India

A total of 81 players including 47 GMs, 19 IMs, a WGM and 3 WIMs are taking part in the Category A (>2200) from 31 countries across the world. The tournament is being organized by Dubai Chess & Culture Club from 27th May to 4th June 2023 at Dubai Chess & Culture Club, UAE. The nine-round Swiss league tournament has a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.

Replay Round 1-2 games

Round 2 results

Rd.Bo.No. NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtg No.
2328
GMMchedlishvili Mikheil25531½ - ½1GMErigaisi Arjun2701
3
2633
GMLalit Babu M R252910 - 11GMSindarov Javokhir2661
7
2734
GMKarthik Venkataraman252810 - 11GMAravindh Chithambaram Vr.2633
9
2810
GMGupta Abhijeet263011 - 01GMMishra Abhimanyu2550
29
2936
GMAditya Mittal25221½ - ½1GMSargsyan Shant2630
11
21418
GMHarsha Bharathakoti26021½ - ½1GMFawzy Adham2495
41
21886
WIMMandura Tijana220310 - 11GMAdhiban B.2589
24
22464
FMLaddha Shubh Jayesh2397½0 - 1½GMSankalp Gupta2504
39
22662
IMAl Qudaimi Basheer240100 - 10GMKarthikeyan Murali2627
13
23146
GMRaja Rithvik R24760½ - ½0FMMovahed Sina2359
71
23450
GMChanda Sandipan246001 - 00GMAhmad Al Khatib2344
73
23552
IMPanda Sambit243601 - 00IMSaeed Ishaq2303
77
24060
IMAnuj Shrivatri240401 - 00FMAlothman Ali Layth Ahmed2224
83

Details

Standings after Round 2

Rk.SNo NameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 Krtg+/-
125
GMAsadli, VugarAZE25842270801108,9
26
GMMatlakov, MaximRUS26622257701106,3
35
GMTabatabaei, M. AminIRI26772255001105,6
10
GMGupta, AbhijeetIND26302255001106,1
512
GMChigaev, MaksimFID26282254501106,1
67
GMSindarov, JavokhirUZB26612252901105,6
79
GMAravindh, Chithambaram Vr.IND26332252801106,1
814
GMIndjic, AleksandarSRB26182250701103,5
915
GMKovalev, VladislavFID26122250601106
1019
GMSanal, VahapTUR26002240801104,9

Details

Round 3 pairings

Rd.Bo.No. NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtg No.
349
GMAravindh Chithambaram Vr.263322GMTheodorou Nikolas2591
23
3519
GMSanal Vahap260022GMGupta Abhijeet2630
10
3624
GMAdhiban B.258922GMChigaev Maksim2628
12
383
GMErigaisi Arjun2701GMRomanov Evgeny2578
26
31117
GMMurzin Volodar2604GMAditya Mittal2522
36
31239
GMSankalp Gupta2504GMHarsha Bharathakoti2602
18
31713
GMKarthikeyan Murali262711GMChanda Sandipan2460
50
31852
IMPanda Sambit243611GMVakhidov Jakhongir2607
16
32355
FMBai Adelard240911GMLalit Babu M R2529
33
32459
IMBuksa Nataliya240611GMKarthik Venkataraman2528
34
32535
GMVasquez Schroeder Rodrigo252411IMAnuj Shrivatri2404
60
33169
IMFarahat Ali2361½½GMRaja Rithvik R2476
46

Details

Links

Official site

Dubai Chess: fb page, twitter, instagram and youtube