Elllobregat Open 2024: Gorshtein and Kekelidze Lead with Perfect Scores

by Niklesh Jain - 03/12/2024

The 5th Elllobregat Open Chess Tournament continues to showcase high-level competition, solidifying its reputation as Spain’s strongest open chess event. After four intense rounds, GM Ido Gorshtein from Israel and GM Mikheil Kekelidze from Georgia are leading with a perfect score of 4/4. Close behind them, six players are in pursuit with 3.5 points, including top seeds like GM Martin Kraemer and GM Cristobal Henriquez Villagra. With six rounds still to play in this 10-round event, the race for the top spot is heating up, promising exciting battles in the rounds ahead. Among Indian players, WIM Tejaswini G secured her second victory in the tournament, defeating IM Valenzuela Gomez Fernando of Chile. Photo and report by Niklesh Jain.

Elllobregat Open 2024: Gorshtein and Kekelidze Lead with Perfect Scores

The 5th Elllobregat Open Chess Tournament, recognized as Spain’s strongest open event, is gaining momentum as GM Ido Gorshtein from Israel and GM Mikheil Kekelidze from Georgia lead the pack with perfect 4/4 scores after four rounds. Their upcoming fifth-round match promises to be a pivotal battle for the tournament's lead.

Round 4 once again began with the traditional bell ringing by the guest.

In today’s action, GM Ido Gorshtein secured a crucial win on board 2 against Kazakhstan’s FM Artyom Bogdanov in 49 moves using the English Opening. His precise endgame play helped maintain his unbeaten run.

Meanwhile, GM Mikheil Kekelidze, playing black, triumphed over Sweden’s IM Seo Jung Min in a 66-move Sicilian game. His sharp endgame strategy, especially with the knight, led him to his fourth straight victory.

On board 1, GM Martin Kraemer of Germany drew with Spain’s GM Josep Manuel Lopez Martinez

while GM Cristobal Henriquez Villagra of Chile was held to a draw by GM Renato Quintiliano of Brazil.

Spanish U-16 World Champion FM Javier Habans also drew

against GM Julen Luis Arizmendi Martinez,

On board 4, the top female player of the tournament, Zsoka Gaal from Hungary, lost to Yahli Sokolovsky of Israel in a double rook and double bishop endgame.

Among Indian players, WIM Tejaswini G secured her second victory in the tournament, defeating IM Valenzuela Gomez Fernando of Chile. With this win, she now stands at 2.5 points and holds a live rating of 2253.

Another notable game featured 11-year-old French player Ruben Coles, who defeated Indy Southcott-Moyers of England in a same-color bishop and rook endgame.

With six rounds remaining in this 10-round event, two players are at the top with 4 points, followed by six competitors with 3.5 points. The tournament is set for more intense battles as players chase the top positions.

Notable Round 4 Results

- GM Ido Gorshtein 1 - 0 FM Artyom Bogdanov

- GM Mikheil Kekelidze 1 - 0 IM Seo Jung Min

- GM Martin Kraemer ½ - ½ GM Josep Manuel Lopez Martinez

- GM Cristobal Henriquez Villagra ½ - ½ GM Renato Quintiliano

- FM Javier Habans ½ - ½ GM Julen Luis Arizmendi Martinez

After four intense rounds of 5th Elllobregat Open, GM Ido Gorshtein from Israel and GM Mikheil Kekelidze from Georgia lead the field with a perfect score of 4/4. Gorshtein, representing Kfar Saba Chess Club, has maintained his form, while Kekelidze, from Georgia, has delivered impressive performances with a significant rating gain of +23.9 Elo points so far. The chasing pack includes six players with 3.5 points each, led by GM Martin Kraemer of Germany. He is closely followed by Spain’s GM Josep Manuel Lopez Martinez, Chile’s GM Cristobal Henriquez Villagra, Brazil’s GM Renato Quintiliano, Israel’s GM Yahli Sokolovsky, and Turkey’s GM Cem Kaan Gokerkan.

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Rank after Round 4

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	n	w	we	w-we	K	rtg+/-
1	6	GM	Gorshtein, Ido		ISR	2528	Kfar Saba Chess Club	4	0	8,5	10,5	10,50	4	4	3,00	1,00	10	10
2	38	GM	Kekelidze, Mikheil		GEO	2353	GEORGIA	4	0	8	9,5	9,50	4	4	1,61	2,39	10	23,9
3	4	GM	Kraemer, Martin		GER	2576	SC Heimbach Neuwied	3,5	0	9	11	9,25	4	3,5	3,00	0,50	10	5
4	19	GM	Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel		ESP	2455	CE	3,5	0	9	10,5	8,75	3	2,5	1,83	0,67	10	6,7
5	2	GM	Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal		CHI	2594	CHILE	3,5	0	8,5	10,5	8,75	4	3,5	2,99	0,51	10	5,1
6	9	GM	Quintiliano, Renato R.		BRA	2507	Escola de Xadrez de Osasco	3,5	0	8,5	10	8,25	4	3,5	2,60	0,90	10	9
7	7	GM	Sokolovsky, Yahli		ISR	2516	Rishon Letzion	3,5	0	8	9,5	8,00	4	3,5	2,83	0,67	10	6,7
8	16	GM	Gokerkan, Cem Kaan		TUR	2490	TURKIYE	3,5	0	6,5	8	7,00	4	3,5	2,93	0,57	10	5,7
9	52	FM	Bogdanov, Artyom		KAZ	2309	KAZAJISTAN	3	0	9,5	9,5	5,50	4	3	1,47	1,53	20	30,6
10	29	FM	Habans Aguerrea, Javier		ESP	2402	Oberena	3	0	8,5	10	6,75	4	3	2,42	0,58	10	5,8
11	25	IM	Sorensen, Hampus		SWE	2419	SK Rockaden	3	0	8	9,5	7,25	4	3	2,61	0,39	10	3,9
12	13	GM	Arizmendi Martinez, Julen Luis		ESP	2493	Andreu Paterna	3	0	8	9	6,25	4	3	2,84	0,16	10	1,6
13	26	FM	Dotzer, Lukas		AUT	2418	SV Rapid Feffernitz	3	0	8	9	5,00	4	3	2,70	0,30	10	3
14	11	GM	Vetokhin, Savva		FID	2502	FIDE	3	0	7,5	9	6,25	4	3	2,90	0,10	10	1
15	14	GM	Tazbir, Marcin		POL	2493	POLAND	3	0	7,5	9	6,25	4	3	2,88	0,12	10	1,2
16	24	FM	Proudian, Armen		BRA	2420	BRASIL	3	0	7,5	9	5,50	4	3	2,53	0,47	10	4,7
17	3	GM	Kozak, Adam		HUN	2591	Magyarország	3	0	7,5	9	5,00	4	3	3,42	-0,42	10	-4,2
18	8	GM	Gholami Orimi, Mahdi		IRI	2507	IRAN	3	0	7	8,5	5,50	4	3	3,12	-0,12	10	-1,2
19	33	GM	Narciso Dublan, Marc		ESP	2373	CE Ateneu Colon	3	0	7	7,5	4,00	4	3	2,62	0,38	10	3,8
20	31	IM	Sanchez, Sebastian Felipe		COL	2376	CE Mollet	3	0	6,5	7,5	5,50	4	3	2,49	0,51	10	5,1

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