Asian Indoor Day two and three: Pouya shocks Ganguly
The Asian Indoor games went underway on 20th September 2017 at Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. 12 Indian players are representing our country in different formats. To begin with we have the Standard individual format where four of our players are in action. Sasikiran and Ganguly in men and Vijayalakshmi and Sachdev in women. We have the day two and three report with pictures, games and all the information you need about the event. Thumbnail source: Ashgabat 2017 facebook page
Photos by Vishal Sareen
Sasikiran is still in the medal hunt
Sasikiran won his both games on day 2 against IM Ali Muhammad Lutfi of Indonesia and GM Enamul Hossain of Bangladesh in round 3 and 4 respectively. On day 3, he faced the tournament leaders, Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem and Chinese GM Lu Shanglei in rounds 5 and 6. Sasi managed to draw both of his games. Here is a report of all four Indians who are playing in the Standard format of 5th Asian Indoor Games 2017.
In round 3, Sasikiran had it easy against IM Ali Muhammad Lutfi of Indonesia in Sicilian Defence Najdorf variation. You can find the DVD here on Sicilian Defence Najdorf Variation by GM Viktor Bologan
Sasi getting ready for round three | Photo: Vishal Sareen
Ganguly had a cakewalk against IM Tologontegin Semetey of Kyrgyzstan
Tania was not allowed a chance by Iranian IM Khademalsharieh Sarasadat in Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defence. To improve your knowledge in QGD Ragozin Defence, you can get GM Alejandro Ramirez's DVD.
Tania before her game in round 3 | Photo: Vishal Sareen
Viji suffered another loss at the hands of Bangladeshi WIM Shamima Akter.
You can increase your knowledge about Slav Defence by studying GM Mihail Marin's DVD of Winning against Classical Slav
In round 4, Sasi won a prolonged Rook Pawn Endgame in Sicilian Defence Taimanov Variation against Bangladeshi GM Enamul Hossain
Ganguly had no difficulty defeating another Bangladeshi GM Abdullah Al Rakib in a complex middle game.
Tania grabbed a full point in English Opening Four Knight's variation against Alexandra Samaganova.
To know more about this opening, check out The English Opening Vol. 1 by GM Simon Williams
Viji had it easy against a much lower rated opponent WFM Wadima Humaid S H Alkalbani of UAE in Sicilian Defence Pelikan variation
In round 5, Sasi faced stiff challenge from Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem. In a Semi-Slav Defence, Sasi was given no chance and he had to settle for a draw with Black pieces. You can develop your knowledge about Semi Slav Defence from the DVD, The Semi Slav by GM Peter Heine Nielsen.
Ganguly, the only other Indian among the men's section in the Standard format tournament, faced a shocking loss against GM Idani Pouya of Iran in Nimzo Indian Defence.
Pouya shocked Ganguly in Nimzo Indian Defence
In the women's section, IM Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan gave a small window of opportunity to her opponent Tania Sachdev in a symmetrical variation of English Opening but unfortunately she could not seize it. You can learn about English Opening Symmetrical variation by studying from The English Opening Vol. 2 by GM Simon Williams.
Tania awaits her opponent IM Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan | Photo: Vishal Sareen
Viji made a comeback of two consecutive wins after suffering two consecutive losses. This time her victim was Omurbekova Diana of Kyrgyzstan in Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs variation.
Viji is delighted to win two consecutive matches after suffering consecutive loses | Photo: Vishal Sareen
In round 6, Sasi faced former World Junior Champion, Chinese GM Lu Shanglei. Sasi missed an opportunity at move number 25 in Sicilian Defence Najdorf variation. He should have denied Queen exchange and played 25.Qg2 instead.
Sasi gets ready to face GM Lu Shanglei | Photo: Vishal Sareen
Ganguly won his 6th round after suffering a blow in the previous round. IM Nezad Husein Aziz of Qatar tried to go all gung-ho but Ganguly handled it easily. You can study The Italian Game by GM Sergey Tiviakov and not repeat the same mistake as Black did in the game.
Ganguly awaits his 6th round opponent to avenge his previous round setback | Photo: Vishal Sareen
Tania was unable to convert a clear advantage into a win against WGM Aulia Medina Warda of Indonesia in Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange variation.
Tania is ready for her opponent of round 6, WGM Aulia Medina Warda | Photo: Vishal Sareen
Viji had an emphatic victory against local WGM Geldiyeva Mahri as she dominated the middlegame by activating her king.
Viji is all set to face WGM Geldiyeva Mahri in the penultimate round | Photo: Vishal Sareen
Rank after Round 6 in Men
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | n | w | we | w-we | K | rtg+/- | |
| 1 | 1 | GM | Le Quang Liem | VIE | 2739 | 5,0 | 0,5 | 20,5 | 24,0 | 4,0 | 19,25 | 7 | 5,5 | 5,09 | 0,41 | 10 | 4,1 |
| 2 | 5 | GM | Lu Shanglei | CHN | 2628 | 5,0 | 0,5 | 20,5 | 23,5 | 4,0 | 18,75 | 7 | 5,5 | 4,30 | 1,20 | 10 | 12,0 |
| 3 | 3 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | IND | 2676 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 21,0 | 24,0 | 3,0 | 17,00 | 7 | 5 | 4,94 | 0,06 | 10 | 0,6 |
| 4 | 10 | GM | Idani Pouya | IRI | 2566 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 18,0 | 20,0 | 4,0 | 14,00 | 7 | 5 | 4,33 | 0,67 | 10 | 6,7 |
| 5 | 14 | GM | Dao Thien Hai | VIE | 2463 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 21,5 | 23,5 | 3,0 | 14,00 | 7 | 4 | 2,94 | 1,06 | 10 | 10,6 |
| 6 | 19 | GM | Hossain Enamul | BAN | 2432 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 19,5 | 20,5 | 3,0 | 12,25 | 7 | 5 | 3,34 | 1,66 | 10 | 16,6 |
| 7 | 8 | GM | Kazhgaleyev Murtas | KAZ | 2570 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 19,0 | 22,0 | 3,0 | 13,25 | 7 | 4,5 | 4,25 | 0,25 | 10 | 2,5 |
| 8 | 26 | IM | Markov Mikhail | KGZ | 2390 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 18,5 | 21,5 | 2,0 | 14,00 | 7 | 5 | 2,01 | 2,99 | 10 | 29,9 |
| 9 | 4 | GM | Ganguly Surya Shekhar | IND | 2665 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 18,0 | 21,0 | 3,0 | 13,00 | 7 | 4,5 | 5,32 | -0,82 | 10 | -8,2 |
| 10 | 2 | GM | Wang Yue | CHN | 2699 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 18,0 | 20,5 | 3,0 | 12,75 | 7 | 4,5 | 5,50 | -1,00 | 10 | -10,0 |
Standings after Round 6
Rank after Round 6 in Women
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | n | w | we | w-we | K | rtg+/- | |
| 1 | 2 | GM | Tan Zhongyi | CHN | 2509 | 5,5 | 0,0 | 20,0 | 23,0 | 5,0 | 20,75 | 7 | 6 | 4,58 | 1,42 | 10 | 14,2 |
| 2 | 1 | GM | Lei Tingjie | CHN | 2534 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 22,0 | 25,5 | 4,0 | 18,00 | 7 | 5,5 | 4,83 | 0,67 | 10 | 6,7 |
| 3 | 5 | IM | Abdumalik Zhansaya | KAZ | 2428 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 21,0 | 24,0 | 3,0 | 17,25 | 7 | 4,5 | 4,53 | -0,03 | 10 | -0,3 |
| 4 | 3 | IM | Saduakassova Dinara | KAZ | 2444 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 18,0 | 21,0 | 3,0 | 15,50 | 7 | 5 | 4,58 | 0,42 | 10 | 4,2 |
| 5 | 12 | WIM | Vo Thi Kim Phung | VIE | 2349 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 16,0 | 17,5 | 4,0 | 10,75 | 7 | 4,5 | 4,19 | 0,31 | 20 | 6,2 |
| 6 | 9 | IM | Tania Sachdev | IND | 2391 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 19,5 | 22,5 | 2,0 | 14,25 | 7 | 4 | 4,49 | -0,49 | 10 | -4,9 |
| 7 | 7 | WGM | Hoang Thi Bao Tram | VIE | 2408 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 19,0 | 22,0 | 3,0 | 13,00 | 7 | 5 | 4,85 | 0,15 | 10 | 1,5 |
| 8 | 18 | WIM | Shamima Akter | BAN | 2136 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 18,5 | 20,0 | 3,0 | 12,00 | 7 | 4 | 2,14 | 1,86 | 20 | 37,2 |
| 9 | 10 | WGM | Aulia Medina Warda | INA | 2375 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 18,5 | 19,0 | 3,0 | 10,25 | 6 | 4 | 3,49 | 0,51 | 10 | 5,1 |
| 10 | 4 | IM | Khademalsharieh Sarasadat | IRI | 2433 | 4,0 | 0,0 | 18,0 | 20,0 | 2,0 | 12,50 | 7 | 4 | 4,84 | -0,84 | 10 | -8,4 |
Standings after Round 6
Final Round coverage and standings will be coming up shortly.