45th edition of International Chess Open of Sitges Village concluded on 30th July 2019. Organizing a tournament of this magnitude for 45 editions, shows the importance and impact chess has in Spain. Unlike every year, this time India did not make a podium finish, however young talents like Harikrishnan and Anuj made the country proud by finishing in top 10.
Get the feel of 45th Sitges International Open 2019 | Video: Niklesh Jain
IM Ra A Harikrishnan and FM Anuj Shrivatri both scored 6.5/9 and finished tied 4th | Photo: Niklesh Jain
GM Sergei Volkov (2548) of Russia scored 7.0/9 and clinched the championship due to a better tie-break score | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Volkov's best win was in the eighth round against GM Oliva Castaneda Kevel (2467) of Cuba.
The podium finishers finished at 7.0/9 each (L to R) - 2nd GM Namig Guliyev of Azerbaijan, 1st GM Sergei Volkov of Russia and 3rd IM Raven Sturt of USA | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Despite remaining undefeated throughout the tournament, three consecutive draws in the last three rounds cost him the championship | Photo: Angela
IM Raven Sturt of USA defeated IM Dylan Isidro Berdayes Ason of Cuba in the final round, who was a strong contender for the title | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Cuban IM Dylan Isidro Berdayes Ason scored 6.5/9 and finished 4th | Photo: Niklesh Jain
IM Dylan Isidro Berdayes Ason was leading the tournament until the penultimate round, however a loss in the final round ended his championship hopes. Dylan managed to score a GM-norm for his fantastic performance and his biggest consolation is defeating the eventual champion of the tournament GM Sergei Volkov in round 6.
Dylan has played some fantastic chess excluding the final round
IM Ra A Harikrishnan was the best finisher among Indians | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Harikrishnan (2401) defeated the highest rated Indian player of the tournament Sreeshwan Maralakshikari (2461) in round 7.
Harikrishnan increased his Elo rating by 12 points
Last time FM Anuj Shrivatri scored an IM-norm, however this time he missed another IM-norm by a whisker but he managed to gain 9 Elo rating points | Photo: Niklesh Jain
In spite of losing two consecutive games in round 3 and 4, Anuj made a strong comeback and scored 4.5/5 in the last five games. His last two wins were impressive
FM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari scored 5.5/9 and won best under-16 trophy | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Colombian WIM Chirivi C Jenny Astrid scored 6.0/9 to win best woman prize | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Final Standings in group - A
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | Gr | FED | RtgI | RtgN | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
| 1 | 3 | GM | Volkov Sergey | RUS | 2548 | 0 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 2441 | 2600 | 2599 | ||||
| 2 | 2 | GM | Guliyev Namig | AZE | 2551 | 0 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 2433 | 2595 | 2650 | ||||
| 3 | 8 | IM | Sturt Raven | USA | 2429 | 0 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 2360 | 2526 | 2573 | ||||
| 4 | 6 | IM | Berdayes Ason Dylan Isidro | CUB | 2461 | 0 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 2462 | 2554 | 2580 | ||||
| 5 | 4 | GM | Munoz Miguel | 2495 | ESP | 2511 | 2571 | Sant Marti C.E. | 6,5 | 0,0 | 2459 | 2558 | 2588 | ||
| 6 | 12 | IM | Harikrishnan.A.Ra | 18 | IND | 2401 | 0 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 2399 | 2491 | 2529 | |||
| 7 | 19 | GM | Pogorelov Ruslan | A | 2350 | UKR | 2347 | 2458 | Escola Escacs Salou | 6,5 | 0,0 | 2397 | 2424 | 2454 | |
| 8 | 1 | GM | Baklan Vladimir | UKR | 2621 | 0 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 2394 | 2504 | 2550 | ||||
| 9 | 15 | FM | Anuj Shrivatri | A-18 | IND | 2372 | 0 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 2283 | 2393 | 2383 | |||
| 10 | 16 | GM | Gaprindashvili Valeriane | A | GEO | 2368 | 0 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 2283 | 2336 | 2433 | |||
| 11 | 9 | IM | Valderrama Quiceno Esteban Alb | COL | 2423 | 0 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 2338 | 2414 | 2411 | ||||
| 12 | 5 | GM | Oliva Castaneda Kevel | CUB | 2467 | 0 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 2334 | 2405 | 2419 | ||||
| 13 | 21 | FM | Mateus Alejandro | A | COL | 2334 | 0 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 2312 | 2350 | 2380 | |||
| 14 | 17 | IM | Lopez Gonzalez Abel Fabian | A | CUB | 2355 | 0 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 2278 | 2296 | 2346 | |||
| 15 | 47 | WIM | Chirivi C Jenny Astrid | C | w | COL | 2089 | 0 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 2207 | 2192 | 2233 | ||
| 16 | 27 | FM | Meessen Rudolf | A | BEL | 2269 | 0 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 2173 | 2249 | 2234 | |||
| 17 | 18 | FM | Herrera Juan Sebastian | A | COL | 2353 | 0 | 5,5 | 0,0 | 2400 | 2398 | 2410 | |||
| 18 | 13 | IM | Lacasa Diaz Jose Antonio | A | 2398 | ESP | 2391 | 2440 | Gran Penya Vilanova C.E. | 5,5 | 0,0 | 2379 | 2389 | 2396 | |
| 19 | 23 | IM | Beltran Rueda Santiago | A | 2334 | ESP | 2326 | 2408 | Sitges Prado Suburenc, C.E. | 5,5 | 0,0 | 2366 | 2343 | 2431 | |
| 20 | 30 | IM | Vittorino Carlo Giovanni | A | COL | 2252 | 0 | 5,5 | 0,0 | 2350 | 2327 | 2325 |
ChessBase India group tour memeber Fathima Abdeen won the group - B by scoring 8.0/9 and increased her Elo rating by 83 points | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Top 3 podium finishers went to Indians in group - B. Champion Fathima Abdeen 8.0/9, Runner-up Indian origin AIM Seth Peramunetilleke 7.0/9 and second runner-up ChessBase India Power head AFM Ankit Dalal 7.0/9 | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Final Standings in group - B
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | Gr | FED | RtgI | RtgN | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
| 1 | 44 | Fathima Abdeen | E | w | IND | 1652 | 0 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 1806 | 2024 | 2208 | |||
| 2 | 81 | AIM | Peramunetilleke Seth | F-12 | HKG | 1408 | 0 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 1767 | 1962 | 2077 | |||
| 3 | 36 | AFM | Ankit Dalal | E | IND | 1680 | 0 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 1712 | 1856 | 2025 | |||
| 4 | 49 | Amit Panchal | F | IND | 1634 | 0 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 1795 | 1824 | 1768 | ||||
| 5 | 24 | Gomez Navais Marcal | E-18 | 1720 | ESP | 1768 | 1998 | Vilafranca C.E. | 6,5 | 0,0 | 1725 | 1815 | 1940 | ||
| 6 | 37 | Gil Provedo Victor | E-18 | 1704 | ESP | 1676 | 0 | Rio | 6,5 | 0,0 | 1690 | 1765 | 1877 | ||
| 7 | 22 | Bernat Pascual Magi | E-18 | 1844 | CAT | 1777 | 2001 | Vilafranca C.E. | 6,5 | 0,0 | 1685 | 1786 | 1910 | ||
| 8 | 6 | Flores Linan Jose Luis | D | 1766 | ESP | 1852 | 2028 | Barcelona, Club Escacs | 6,5 | 0,0 | 1657 | 1766 | 1908 | ||
| 9 | 16 | Guasch Guasch Ferran | D | 1799 | ESP | 1806 | 2012 | Valls C.E. | 6,5 | 0,0 | 1650 | 1778 | 1807 | ||
| 10 | 41 | Villa Tornero Alex | E-12 | 1655 | ESP | 1657 | 1885 | Montornes C.E. | 6,5 | 0,0 | 1544 | 1589 | 1799 |
WIM Franco Angela of Colombia took photos for ChessBase India along with playing the tournament | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Oh no what did I do? | Photo: Angela
The Indian kids are giving us a lot of headache | Photo: Angela
Uh-oh I shouldn't have done that | Photo: Angela
At last someone took my photo | Photo: Angela
That's all from 45th Sitges International Open 2019 | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Two men who took chess in Sitges to a whole new level. Oscar organizes Sunway Sitges in December every year and Francesco Alonso Gonsalez is organizing Sitges International in July for 45 years | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Like last year, this year also ChessBase India Power team performed fantastic | Photo: Niklesh Jain
We will continue bringing more news from Barcelona...
Translation from Hindi by Shahid Ahmed
