Narayanan, Arjun and Abhimanyu in the hunt
Top seed of the tournament GM Narayanan S L drew with fellow countryman GM Abhimanyu Puranik to stay in the hunt at 5.5/7 each respectively.



Arjun - Shahinyan: 1-0
GM Arjun Erigaisi defeated IM David Shahinyan (ARM) with a positional play as he exploited his opponent's weakeness.

The a6-pawn is already attacked by three pieces. Even though Black has 26...Qa7, the pawn will eventually fall. Arjun converted his advantage into a win eventually.


Babujian - Praggnanandhaa: 0-1
GM Levan Babujian (ARM) capture the isolated queen's pawn of GM Praggnanandhaa. It was a positional mistake.

21.Nxd5 is not a good idea. Black is happy to get rid of the isolated pawn as it opens the long diagonal for the b7-bishop. What transpired is a series of miscalculation by White 21...Qxb2 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Nh4 Nxh4 24.Ne7+ Kg7 25.Nxc8 Nf3+ 26.Kf1 Nxh2+ 27.Kg1 Nf3+ 28.Kf1 Nf6. White's position is in shambles. The exchanged which White gained is not worth the weakening of the king's position.


Barseghyan - Sandipan: 0-1
GM Sandipan Chanda did a nice combination using tactics against FM Armen Ar. Barseghyan (ARM).

Find out why, 27.Rxg6 is a big mistake.






For more Round 7 photos, please click here.
Highlights
Here are a few interesting finishes of Round 7.



Replay Round 7 games
The tournament is taking place at Tsaghkadzor Marriott Hotel, Tsaghkadzor in Armenia from 4th to 12th October 2021. Time control is 90'/40 + 30' + 30" per move. Everyday game starts at 3 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. IST), except 12th October, the final round will start at 10:30 a.m. local time (12 p.m. IST).








