MPL 58th National Senior R10: Gukesh rejoins Arjun Erigaisi at the top

by Shahid Ahmed - 03/03/2022

Arjun Erigaisi (TEL) drew with Iniyan P (TN) in the penultimate round of MPL 58th National Senior Chess Championship 2022. Thus, it allowed D Gukesh (TN) to catch up as he beat Abhijeet Gupta (PSPB) to regain the lead 8.0/10. Seven players are at 7.5/10 - GM Iniyan P, GM Aravindh, GM Aryan, GM Sethuraman S P, GM Visakh, GM Mitrabha Guha and IM Pranav. The two-time Tamil Nadu State Senior champion and a single GM-norm holder, Pranav Venkatesh ended GM Lalit Rohit's 45-game unbeaten streak in Classical chess since December 2021. Round 11 starts today at 10:00 a.m. IST today. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Nubairshah stuns Deepan

Seven games ended decisively in the penultimate round. IM Nubairshah Shaikh (MAH) stunned GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (RSPB). IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete (MAH) drew with the top seed of the tournament GM B Adhiban (PSPB).

Gukesh rejoins Arjun | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Arjun Erigaisi had a relatively quiet draw with Iniyan P | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Aravindh - Aryan: 0.5-0.5

GM Aravindh Chithambaram (TN) had an interesting Queen endgame against GM Aryan Chopra (DEL).

Position after 31...Kf7

If anyone can win this endgame, it has to be White. However, it is not easy to figure out how to win this. Aravindh was unable to find it and the game ended in a draw.

Aravindh and Aryan had an exciting endgame | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Abhijeet - Gukesh: 0-1

GM Abhijeet Gupta (PSPB) might have managed to get a slight edge against GM D Gukesh (TN) in the early middlegame. However, it was Gukesh who seized his opportunity when the occasion arose.

Position after 40...f6

40.Qg5 allowed Black to get his pieces back into action by gaining a tempo 40...f6 41.Qg4 fxe5 42.Qxe6 Nef6 43.Rc1 Qh7 44.Rxc7+ Qxc7 45.Qxe5 Qxe5 46.Nxe5 Nxh5 47.g4 Nf6 48.g5

Position after 48.g5

White made an unforced error 48.g5. It provoked the f6-knight which found a better square 48...Ne4. White had no choice but to play 49.Nf3. 49.Bc1 would have worsened things after 49...Rc8 50.Rc1 Rc2. Gukesh converted his advantage comfortably into a win to rejoin the lead.

Final moments: Abhijeet vs Gukesh | Video: ChessBase India

Gukesh played a high class game to beat Abhijeet | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Swapnil - Sethuraman: 0-1

GM Swapnil Dhopade (RSPB) inaccurately defended his position against GM Sethuraman S P's (PSPB) attack which cost him the game.

Position after 39...Re2

40.Be1 the passive way seems to be the correct defense. A deeper calculation reveals that it leads to a loss for White. An active defense via 40.Bb4 is the only way for White to survive Black's onslaught.

Sethuraman got the better of Swapnil | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Lalith - Pranav: 0-1

GM Lalith Rohit's (PSPB) 45-game unbeaten streak in Classical chess since December 2021, came to an end against IM Pranav Venkatesh (TN).

IM Pranav V is a very strong player | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Visakh - Aronyak: 1-0

The opposite color bishop endgame between GM Visakh N R (RSPB) and IM Aronyak Ghosh (WB) seemed to have headed towards a draw.

Position after 46.Kg6

If anyone can win this position, it has to be White. However, for White to win this Black has to make a big mistake, as there is no win for White otherwise. Find out what should Black do after 46.Kg6 to ensure the game heads towards a draw and eliminate White's chances.

GM Visakh N R (RSPB) does not miss his chances | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Defending National Senior champion, GM Mitrabha Guha (WB) seized his opportunity in the endgame against Sambit Panda (ODI) | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

IM Sammed Shete (MAH) held the top seed GM B Adhiban (PSPB) to a draw | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (RSPB) - IM Nubairshah Shaikh (MAH)| Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Arjun Erigaisi takes on IPS officer Mr. Bhanu Bhaskar | Video: ChessBase India

National Championships 2022 | Day 6 highlights | Video: ChessBase India

For more Round 10 photos, click here.

A total of 184 players including 22 GMs and 30 IMs are taking part in this tournament organized by UP Chess Sports Association. The event is taking place at Ganges Club at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh from 25th February to 3rd March 2022. The eleven-round Swiss league tournament has a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1

Replay Round 10 games

Round 10 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	Club/City	No.
1	2	GM	Erigaisi Arjun	2633	TEL	7½	½ - ½	7	GM	Iniyan P	2516	TN	15
2	8	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	2611	TN	7	½ - ½	7	GM	Aryan Chopra	2585	DEL	9
3	3	GM	Gupta Abhijeet	2628	PSPB	6½	0 - 1	7	GM	Gukesh D	2614	TN	7
4	19	GM	Swapnil S. Dhopade	2495	Rlys	6½	0 - 1	6½	GM	Sethuraman S.P.	2619	PSPB	5
5	10	GM	Lalith Babu M R	2563	PSPB	6½	0 - 1	6½	IM	Pranav V	2486	TN	21
6	13	GM	Visakh N R	2522	Rlys	6½	1 - 0	6½	IM	Aronyak Ghosh	2482	WB	22
7	16	GM	Mitrabha Guha	2510	WB	6½	1 - 0	6½		Panda Sambit	2059	ODI	87
8	4	GM	Karthikeyan Murali	2622	PSPB	6	1 - 0	6½	IM	Ratnakaran K.	2316	Rlys	49
9	38	IM	Sammed Jaykumar Shete	2408	MAH	6	½ - ½	6	GM	Adhiban B.	2648	PSPB	1
10	12	GM	Sengupta Deep	2528	PSPB	6	1 - 0	6		Utsab Chatterjee	2321	WB	48
11	14	GM	Deepan Chakkravarthy J.	2520	Rlys	6	0 - 1	6	IM	Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh	2436	MAH	33
12	18	GM	Harsha Bharathakoti	2499	TEL	6	1 - 0	6	IM	Harshavardhan G B	2402	TN	39
13	20	IM	Aditya Mittal	2487	MAH	6	1 - 0	6	FM	Aaryan Varshney	2277	DEL	57
14	32	IM	Shyaamnikhil P	2442	Rlys	6	½ - ½	6	IM	Ravi Teja S.	2469	Rlys	25
15	26	IM	Koustav Chatterjee	2466	WB	6	1 - 0	6	IM	Srihari L R	2400	TN	41
16	107		Ilamparthi A R	1969	TN	6	½ - ½	6	IM	Pranesh M	2455	TN	29
17	27	IM	Krishna C R G	2466	Rlys	5½	1 - 0	6		Bharat Kumar Reddy Poluri	2263	TEL	59
18	28	IM	Das Sayantan	2459	Rlys	5½	1 - 0	5½	FM	Ayush Sharma	2302	MP	51
19	54	IM	Sangma Rahul	2286	Rlys	5½	0 - 1	5½	IM	Vignesh N R	2444	Rlys	31
20	34	GM	Laxman R.R.	2429	Rlys	5½	½ - ½	5½	IM	Sharma Dinesh K.	2283	LIC	55

Details

Round 11 pairings

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	Club/City	No.
1	5	GM	Sethuraman S.P.	2619	PSPB	7½		8	GM	Erigaisi Arjun	2633	TEL	2
2	7	GM	Gukesh D	2614	TN	8		7½	GM	Aryan Chopra	2585	DEL	9
3	21	IM	Pranav V	2486	TN	7½		7½	GM	Visakh N R	2522	Rlys	13
4	15	GM	Iniyan P	2516	TN	7½		7½	GM	Mitrabha Guha	2510	WB	16
5	12	GM	Sengupta Deep	2528	PSPB	7		7½	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	2611	TN	8
6	4	GM	Karthikeyan Murali	2622	PSPB	7		7	IM	Aditya Mittal	2487	MAH	20
7	33	IM	Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh	2436	MAH	7		7	GM	Harsha Bharathakoti	2499	TEL	18
8	10	GM	Lalith Babu M R	2563	PSPB	6½		7	IM	Koustav Chatterjee	2466	WB	26
9	1	GM	Adhiban B.	2648	PSPB	6½		6½	IM	Gusain Himal	2408	Rlys	37
10	49	IM	Ratnakaran K.	2316	Rlys	6½		6½	GM	Gupta Abhijeet	2628	PSPB	3
11	29	IM	Pranesh M	2455	TN	6½		6½	GM	Swapnil S. Dhopade	2495	Rlys	19
12	22	IM	Aronyak Ghosh	2482	WB	6½		6½	IM	Shyaamnikhil P	2442	Rlys	32
13	25	IM	Ravi Teja S.	2469	Rlys	6½		6½	GM	Sriram Jha	2379	LIC	42
14	40	IM	Shahil Dey	2400	ASM	6½		6½	IM	Krishna C R G	2466	Rlys	27
15	87		Panda Sambit	2059	ODI	6½		6½	IM	Das Sayantan	2459	Rlys	28
16	31	IM	Vignesh N R	2444	Rlys	6½		6½		Ilamparthi A R	1969	TN	107
17	35	IM	Nitin S.	2427	Rlys	6		6½	IM	Sammed Jaykumar Shete	2408	MAH	38
18	57	FM	Aaryan Varshney	2277	DEL	6		6	GM	Deepan Chakkravarthy J.	2520	Rlys	14
19	55	IM	Sharma Dinesh K.	2283	LIC	6		6	IM	Neelash Saha	2445	WB	30
20	59		Bharat Kumar Reddy Poluri	2263	TEL	6		6	GM	Laxman R.R.	2429	Rlys	34

Details

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