Vidit Gujrathi clinches 9th Gashimov Memorial 2023 after an exciting chase, Arjun Erigaisi second
Vidit Gujrathi is on a roll. After winning FIDE Grand Swiss 2023 and securing a spot in the Candidates 2024, he won the 33rd PSPB Inter Petroleum Individual Rapid 2023. The 9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 is his third consecutive individual tournament triumph. Despite not finishing first in either Rapid or Blitz, Vidit managed to win the entire event. That speaks volumes about the strength of the tournament. He scored 22/36, 10/18 in Rapid and 12/18 in Blitz, finishing a half point ahead of Arjun Erigaisi 21.5/36. Richard Rapport (ROU) who topped the Blitz event scoring 12/18, finished third overall 19/36. Check out the interview of all top three finishers, few players' thoughts on Vugar Gashimov, games from the event and a lot more. Photo: Mukthar Ahmad / Gashimov Chess
Consistency triumphs over individual event victory
Vidit Gujrathi is in the form of his life. He is playing differently than he used to before, his confidence is completely on different level. How many players win the entire tournament despite not winning neither Rapid nor Blitz event? This definitely shows his resiliency, stamina and desire to do well. He started 0.5/3 in Blitz, it became 1.5/5 without a single win. The first victory occurred in the sixth round, and then he won seven more games, scoring 10.5/13 in his last 13 games to become the champion. He maintained his pursuit against Arjun Erigaisi who led the better part of the Blitz event. One thing is for sure, he played like a champion.
A slow start
Vidit Gujrathi (2642) made a slow start as he scored only 0.5/3, suffering two losses. He drew the next two games before scoring his first win in Blitz against GM Nijat Abasov (AZE, 2561). The best game according to the champion is his second win against Abasov in Round 15.
Vidit - Abasov, Round 15
Where should Black move his knight? In the game, Black misplaced his knight on f4 and lost the game in the next five moves.
Round 17: Arjun falters, Vidit surpasses him
In the penultimate round, Arjun Erigaisi lost against the Romania no.1 - Richard Rapport (ROU). Vidit Gujrathi defeated Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) to take the lead 21/34, Arjun slipped down to second place 20.5/34.
Round 18: Two-horse race
It became mathematically impossible for any other player to catch Vidit and Arjun. Irrespective of their individual results, they were guaranteed the top two spot, except nobody knew who win claim the first and second place. Vidit winning his final round game against Rauf Mamedov (AZE) made him a clear champion. Arjun Erigaisi defeated the Rapid event topper - Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) to secure second place.
Photo Gallery
For more photos, please click here.
On Monday 11th December, players, organizers and officials visited the monument of National leader - Heydar Aliyev.
For more photos, please click here.
Vidit's good friend, Anish Giri tweeted on Vidit's triumph, in his own inimitable way
Video Gallery
Lots of games and an interview with one of the official commentators - Murad Hashimov, the person who runs the most popular chess channel in Azerbaijan - ChessBorn TV will be published soon, stay tuned.
Replay live stream
Replay Blitz Round 1-18 games
Schedule
The Rapid tournament will be held in a Round-Robin system and the Blitz tournament will be played in a Double Round-Robin system with ten players. The Rapid event will take place from 8th to 10th December, the first round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. On the last day, Monday 11th December, a total of 18 rounds of Blitz games will be played starting from 2 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST).
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.
Round 18 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2729 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 1 - 0 | GM | Suleymanli, Aydin | 2553 | 5 | |
| 2 | 4 | 2642 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 1 - 0 | GM | Mamedov, Rauf | 2635 | 6 | |
| 3 | 3 | 2561 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | ½ - ½ | GM | Radjabov, Teimour | 2664 | 7 | |
| 4 | 2 | 2716 | GM | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | 1 - 0 | GM | Van Foreest, Jorden | 2664 | 8 | |
| 5 | 1 | 2604 | GM | Gelfand, Boris | ½ - ½ | GM | Rapport, Richard | 2748 | 9 |
Standings after Blitz Round 18
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | GM | Rapport, Richard | ROU | 2748 | 12 | 1,5 | 8 | 106,00 |
| 2 | 4 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2642 | 12 | 0,5 | 8 | 95,75 |
| 3 | 10 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2729 | 11,5 | 0 | 8 | 93,25 |
| 4 | 2 | GM | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | AZE | 2716 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 78,50 |
| 5 | 7 | GM | Radjabov, Teimour | AZE | 2664 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 83,50 |
| 6 | 6 | GM | Mamedov, Rauf | AZE | 2635 | 9,5 | 0 | 6 | 80,75 |
| 7 | 5 | GM | Suleymanli, Aydin | AZE | 2553 | 7,5 | 0 | 5 | 61,00 |
| 8 | 8 | GM | Van Foreest, Jorden | NED | 2664 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 56,75 |
| 9 | 3 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | AZE | 2561 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 51,00 |
| 10 | 1 | GM | Gelfand, Boris | ISR | 2604 | 4,5 | 0 | 0 | 41,50 |
Complete standings after Rapid and Blitz
| Rank | Name | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
| 1 | Vidit Gujrathi | 10 | 12 | 22 |
| 2 | Arjun Erigaisi | 10 | 11.5 | 21.5 |
| 3 | Richard Rapport | 7 | 12 | 19 |
| 4 | Aydin Suleymanli | 11 | 7.5 | 18.5 |
| 5 | Rauf Mamedov | 9 | 9.5 | 18.5 |
| 6 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 8 | 10 | 18 |
| 7 | Teimour Radjabov | 8 | 10 | 18 |
| 8 | Jorden van Foreest | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 9 | Nijat Abasov | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| 10 | Boris Gelfand | 8 | 4.5 | 12.5 |
Links
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विदित नें जीता गशीमोव मेमोरियल का खिताब
@ 12/12/2023 by Niklesh Jain (hi) |
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18-year-old Aydin Suleymanli tops 9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid with a 2740 performance
@ 11/12/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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9th Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid R4-6: Aydin sensational against Shakh, joins three-way lead
@ 09/12/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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9th Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid R1-3: Nijat Abasov gains early sole lead
@ 09/12/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi set to face world's best at 9th Gashimov Memorial 2023
@ 07/12/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |