Gukesh becomes the first Indian to win La Roda Open
GM D Gukesh became the first Indian player to win La Roda International Open in 48 years. Last year in the 47th edition, WGM Nandhidhaa became the first woman to make a podium finish. Gukesh took an average of 28 moves to score wins in this tournament. In the last three rounds, the average went down to 24 moves. It only shows how well Gukesh played in this event.
Praggnanandhaa - Gukesh, Round 6
One of the highly anticipated game of the tournament was a rematch between Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh from their final round encounter at the recently concluded Kvika Reykjavik Open 2022. Black went 24...Nb5 25.Kg2 Nd4 26.Nxd4 exd4 27.Bf4 Bd6 28.fxg6 Bxf4 29.Qxf4 fxg6 giving White a huge decisive advantage. This time it was Praggnanandhaa who was unable to seize his advantage and Gukesh managed to save the day.
Gukesh - Mikhalevski, Round 9
White going 5.h4, 6.h5 put Black in disarray. Instead of completing the development of pieces 11...Re8, Black played the strange 11...Nb4. White continued 12.Bd2 c5 13.Rc1 b6 14.a3 Nd5 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.Rxc5 White is completely dominating the position. Gukesh won the game in another ten moves.
Gukesh tweeted his thoughts on his victory
twitter.com/i/status/1515739159889129486
Praggnanandhaa congratulated Gukesh
twitter.com/i/status/1515911449444376576
A total of 183 players including 7 GMs and 7 IMs took part from 13 countries across the world. The tournament was organized by Club Ajedrez Polideportivo La Roda from 13th to 17th April 2022 at La Caja Blanca in La Roda, Albacete, Spain. The nine-round Swiss league tournament had a time control of 90 minutes each with 30 seconds increment from move no. 1.
Replay Round 1-9 games
Round 9 results
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 2 | GM | Gukesh D | 2637 | 7 | 1 - 0 | 6½ | GM | Mikhalevski Victor | 2554 | 6 |
| 2 | 5 | GM | Praggnanandhaa R | 2624 | 6½ | ½ - ½ | 7 | GM | Martirosyan Haik M. | 2633 | 3 |
| 3 | 19 | FM | Buendia Pinar Alvaro | 2295 | 6 | ½ - ½ | 6 | GM | Sargsyan Shant | 2639 | 1 |
| 4 | 4 | GM | Sadhwani Raunak | 2628 | 6 | 1 - 0 | 6 | FM | Lim Zhuo Ren | 2317 | 17 |
| 5 | 14 | FM | Domingo Nunez Ruben | 2401 | 6 | 0 - 1 | 6 | GM | Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel | 2493 | 7 |
| 6 | 27 | Alfaya Marcelo Roberto | 2229 | 6 | 0 - 1 | 6 | FM | Martinez Reyes Pedro Ramon | 2401 | 13 | |
| 7 | 8 | IM | Martin Duque Jesus | 2421 | 5½ | 0 - 1 | 6 | FM | Domingo Nunez Alejandro | 2311 | 18 |
| 8 | 10 | IM | Bernal Moro Luis Javier | 2415 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | FM | Buenafe Moya Javier | 2199 | 30 |
| 9 | 32 | FM | Santos Antonio P | 2192 | 5½ | 0 - 1 | 5½ | IM | Rubio Mejia Luis Ignacio | 2409 | 11 |
| 10 | 41 | Valdepenas Octavio Javier | 2129 | 5½ | 1 - 0 | 5½ | FM | Gavarrete Nahun | 2349 | 15 |
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | FED | Rtg | RtgN | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | |
| 1 | 2 | GM | Gukesh D | IND | 2637 | 0 | India | 8,0 | 48,5 | 53,5 | 40,5 | 46,25 | 0,0 | |
| 2 | 3 | GM | Martirosyan Haik M. | ARM | 2633 | 0 | Armenia | 7,5 | 51,0 | 55,5 | 41,0 | 44,50 | 0,0 | |
| 3 | 5 | GM | Praggnanandhaa R | IND | 2624 | 0 | India | 7,0 | 53,5 | 58,5 | 38,5 | 44,00 | 0,0 | |
| 4 | 4 | GM | Sadhwani Raunak | IND | 2628 | 0 | India | 7,0 | 51,0 | 56,0 | 36,5 | 42,50 | 0,0 | |
| 5 | 7 | GM | Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel | ESP | 2493 | 2496 | CAT | 7,0 | 47,0 | 51,0 | 36,5 | 38,75 | 0,0 | |
| 6 | 13 | FM | Martinez Reyes Pedro Ramon | VEN | 2401 | 2404 | MAD | 7,0 | 45,0 | 50,0 | 36,0 | 38,50 | 0,0 | |
| 7 | 18 | FM | Domingo Nunez Alejandro | ESP | 2311 | 2330 | GAL | 7,0 | 45,0 | 49,0 | 34,0 | 37,00 | 0,0 | |
| 8 | 6 | GM | Mikhalevski Victor | ISR | 2554 | 2613 | CAN | 6,5 | 50,5 | 55,0 | 36,5 | 37,25 | 0,0 | |
| 9 | 1 | GM | Sargsyan Shant | ARM | 2639 | 0 | Armenia | 6,5 | 46,5 | 51,0 | 34,0 | 36,25 | 0,0 | |
| 10 | 19 | FM | Buendia Pinar Alvaro | ESP | 2295 | 2297 | CTM - Excalibur | 6,5 | 46,5 | 50,0 | 34,5 | 33,75 | 0,0 | |
| 11 | 16 | IM | Alshameary Puente Ismael | ESP | 2344 | 2348 | AND - P. A. Oromana | 6,5 | 45,5 | 49,5 | 34,5 | 32,50 | 0,0 | |
| 12 | 11 | IM | Rubio Mejia Luis Ignacio | ESP | 2409 | 2421 | MAD | 6,5 | 44,5 | 49,5 | 34,0 | 35,25 | 0,0 | |
| 13 | 41 | Valdepenas Octavio Javier | ESP | 2129 | 2132 | VAL | 6,5 | 41,5 | 45,0 | 31,5 | 30,50 | 0,0 | ||
| 14 | 60 | Machado Hernandez Junior | ESP | 2015 | 2012 | CTM - Excalibur | 6,5 | 41,0 | 44,5 | 29,5 | 30,25 | 0,0 | ||
| 15 | 39 | Bustos Bernardo Samuel | ESP | 2132 | 2154 | CTM - Getafe | 6,5 | 39,0 | 42,0 | 31,0 | 29,00 | 0,0 |
