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

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).

Aravindh - Aryan: 0.5-0.5

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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

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Round 11 pairings

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