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55th Biel MTO R5: Aryan Chopra, Pranav Anand and Visakh N R in a three-way lead

by Shahid Ahmed - 19/07/2022

IM Pranav Anand showed his tenacity against GM Sethuraman S P. Despite having a completely lost position, he persevered and waited for his opportunity. When the former Asian champion missed plenty of chances to score a win, the 15-year-old seized his opportunity and walked away with a win. GM Aryan Chopra scored an emphatic victory over GM Leon Luke Mendonca. GM Visakh N R had a calm draw with GM Shant Sargsyan (ARM). Visakh will face Aryan and Pranav will be up against GM Kirill Alekseenko. GMT Round 4 and MTO Round 6 starts today at 2 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. IST). Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Surya Sekhar Ganguly in the chase

Seven players are trailing by a half point at 4/6 each. GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly is the sole Indian among them. He drew his fifth round game against GM Alexander Motylev.

IM Pranav Anand joined GM Aryan Chopra and GM Visakh N R in a three-way lead 4.5/5 | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Sethuraman - Pranav Anand: 0-1

To win against a strong player one does not need to outplay them. Quite often one may end up having an inferior position which is alright, as long as one has the tenacity to overcome all odds. IM Pranav Anand (2463) was completely lost against GM Sethuraman S P (2623).

Position after 27.Qd2

27...a6 28.Nd6 Qb1+ threatening Re1 in the next move, was perhaps the simplest win for Black in the entire game. However, Grandmasters are human too. He missed this opportunity and a few more. Pranav soon managed to equalize the position in the next few moves and then went on to win the game with some precise play.

Aryan - Leon: 1-0

GM Aryan Chopra (2610) launched a very nice attack on the kingside after GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2567) did not get rid of his opponent's knight quick enough and lost few tempi.

Position after 29.exf6

The usual instinct is to recapture the pawn 29...Rxf6. However, here Black needed to get rid of the d6-knight quickly as the f6-pawn alone is not menacing, moreover it only blocks the long diagonal for White's dark-square bishop. 29...Rd8 30.Nxe8 Rdxe8 keeps Black in the game. The game continued 30.Be5 Rf8 31.Bd1 Rd8 32.Nxe8 Rdxe8 33.Bc2 Rf7 34.Bxg6! and it's a matter of time before everything starts falling apart on the kingside.

Position after 34.Bxg6

Both bishops are piercing Black's kingside. White won the game in another eight moves.

GM Aryan Chopra scored an emphatic victory | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

GM Visakh N R (pictured) - GM Shant Sargsyan (ARM): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

The GMT and DAQ participants went on an excursion at St. Peters Island | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
Replay 55th Biel Chess Festival MTO Round 5 Live commentary by GM Arturs Neiksans and IM Kassa Korley | Video: Biel Chess Festival

A total of 114 players including 26 GMs, 23 IMs and 3 WIMs are taking part from 31 countries across the world. The nine-round Swiss League tournament is organized by Biel-Bienne Chess at Biel Congress House, Biel, Switzerland from 13th to 22nd July. The sole rest day is Sunday 17th July. The time control is 90 minutes/40 moves with 30 seconds increment + 30 minutes.

Replay MTO Round 5 games

Round 5 results

Bo.No.NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtgNo.
123GMVisakh N R25034½ - ½GMSargsyan Shant26615
215GMGanguly Surya Shekhar2608½ - ½GMMotylev Alexander26327
327IMPranav Anand24631 - 0GMSethuraman S.P.26239
413GMAryan Chopra26101 - 0GMMendonca Leon Luke256717
516GMErdos Viktor25863½ - ½3GMYu Yangyi27201
62GMAlekseenko Kirill270831 - 03GMAzarov Sergei256618
729CMPrraneeth Vuppala245730 - 13GMFedoseev Vladimir26863
88GMLagarde Maxime26313½ - ½3GMMuradli Mahammad252321
910GMIturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo261931 - 03IMMohammad Nubairshah Shaikh244532
1026GMRaja Harshit24773½ - ½3GMPuranik Abhimanyu261211

Details

Round 6 pairings

Bo.No.NameRtgPts.ResultPts.NameRtgNo.
123GMVisakh N R2503GMAryan Chopra261013
22GMAlekseenko Kirill27084IMPranav Anand246327
33GMFedoseev Vladimir268644GMIturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo261910
45GMSargsyan Shant266144GMGanguly Surya Shekhar260815
57GMMotylev Alexander263244GMHuschenbeth Niclas261014
61GMYu Yangyi2720GMIniyan P253320
719GMPetrov Martin2534GMLagarde Maxime26318
89GMSethuraman S.P.2623GMGagare Shardul251422
911GMPuranik Abhimanyu2612GMBharath Subramaniyam H247924
1021GMMuradli Mahammad2523GMBanusz Tamas261112

Details

Links

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