S Rohith Krishna aces 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023
by Shahid Ahmed - 11/06/2023
IM S Rohith Krishna drew his final round game against GM Aleksej Aleksandrov to win 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023. The teenager won his third consecutive tournament after winning 19th Malakoff Open 2023 in France and Ostravský Koník Open A in Czech Republic. He won a tournament each in April, May and now June. The boy from Tamil Nadu scored 9/11 and finished a full point ahead of the competition. Six players - GM Laxman R R, IM Raahul V S, GM Aleksej Aleksandrov, IM Viani Antonio Dcunha, IM Kushagra Mohan and IM Neelash Saha scored 8/11 each. They were placed second to seventh respectively according to tie-breaks. The two-time reigning National Under-17 Open champion, CM Mayank Chakraborty earned his maiden GM and IM-norms. Sanket Chakravarty secured his second IM-norm, while FM Goutham Krishna H earned his maiden IM-norm. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
A GM-norm and three IM-norms
The success of a GM tournament is measured in not how many people participated in the event, but the total number of norms scored in that event. One GM-norm and three IM-norms certainly speaks volumes about the tournament being successful. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹2500000. The top three prizes were ₹350000, ₹275000 and ₹200000 along with a trophy each. The 1st Maharashtra Chess Festival Below 1600 Rating Tournament prize distribution ceremony also took place on the same day. It will be mentioned in detail in a separate report.
Champion - IM S Rohith Krishna 9/11
S Rohith Krishna completes a hat-trick of tournament wins by dominating 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023
Runner-up - GM Laxman R R 8/11
"Mostly Yoga and Meditation helps more than your opening preparation" - GM Laxman R R
Second Runner-up - IM Raahul V S 8/11
I was able to boldly make decisions, even if it's a mistake, I liked to play my move - IM Raahul V S
Top three finishers (L to R) - 2nd GM Laxman R R, 1st IM S Rohith Krishna and 3rd IM Raahul V S
GM Aleksej Aleksandrov - IM S Rohith Krishna: 0.5-0.5
GM Laxman R R - IM Viani Antonio Dcunha: 0.5-0.5
Kushagra - Fedorov
Position after 17...Nf4?
GM Alexei Fedorov (2449) made a big mistake when he played 17...Nf4? to run interference in the queen-bishop battery. 18.Bxg7 Nxe2+ 19.Qxe2 Kxg7 20.Rxd6 bxc4 21.Rhd1 IM Kushagra Mohan (2412) converted his advantage into a win cleanly, without giving any chance to his opponent.
IM Kushagra Mohan scored a crushing victory over GM Alexei Fedorov
IM Raahul V S - IM Milosz Szpar (POL): 1-0
IM Neelash Saha defeated CM Mayank Chakraborty to finish seventh
Sanket - Savchenko
Position after 44..Qd1??
GM Boris Savchenko (2524) decided against going for perpetual check, on two different occasion and blundered 44...Qd1?? Find out the correct continuation for White. Sanket Chakravarty (2389) found it and went on to win the game. This win earned him his second IM-norm, crossed 2400 in the live ratings and also got him Best Game of Round 11 prize.
Sanket Chakravarty won a must-win final round game against the top seed - GM Boris Savchenko
FM Vedant Panesar - GM Viacheslav Zakhartsov: 0.5-0.5
GM Deep Sengupta tested Subhayan Kundu's correspondence squares and opposition knowledge in the pawn endgame. Subhayan showcased his knowledge of both quite well
FM Ritviz Parab defeated GM Evgeny Vorobiov to finish ninth, highest non IM/GM finisher of the event
IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete defeated GM Vitaly Teterev to finish eleventh
GM Manik Mikulas - Kaustuv Kundu: 0.5-0.5
FM Goutham Krishna H defeated IM David Gochelashvili to earn his maiden IM-norm
2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023 Arbiters' team
Back row (L to R) - FA Pornima Upalaavikar, FA Anish Ansari, FA Sumukh Sudhakar Gaikwad and FA Gopimohan M S.
Front row (L to R) - FA Mohit Ladhe, IA Swapnil Bansod, IA Ravichandran V, IA Vivek Sohani and FA Deepak Kumtakar.
Norm makers
Second IM-norm - Sanket Chakravarty 7.5/11
Sanket Chakravarty earns his second IM-norm by beating GM Boris Savchenko in a must-win game | Video: ChessBase India
First GM and IM-norm - CM Mayank Chakraborty 7/11
From 2141 to 2326 + IM and GM-norm in one tournament - 13-year-old Whizkid from Assam - CM Mayank Chakraborty | Video: ChessBase India
First IM-norm - FM Goutham Krishna H 6.5/11
Prize distribution ceremony photos
4th GM Aleksej Aleksandrov 8/11
5th IM Viani Antonio Dcunha 8/11
6th IM Kushagra Mohan 8/11
IM Kushagra Mohan wins a double at 10th Dhamso International Chess Festival 2023 in Sri Lanka | Video: ChessBase India
7th IM Neelash Saha 8/11
Honestly, if I were the judge, I wouldn't have given it the best game award - IM Neelash Saha | Video: ChessBase India
8th GM Luka Paichadze (GEO) 7.5/11
9th FM Ritviz Parab 7.5/11
FM Ritviz Parab is the highest non GM/IM finisher at 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023 | Video: ChessBase India
10th Sanket Chakravarty 7.5/11
Best Below 2400 1st - GM Manik Mikulas (SVK) 6.5/11
Best Below 2100 3rd - CM John Veny Akkarakaran 6/11
Best Maharashtra 1st - Pushkar Dere 6.5/11
Best Maharashtra 2nd - IM Anup Deshmukh 6/11
Best Maharashtra 3rd - FM Nikhil Dixit 6/11
Best Female first - Mrittika Mallick 5.5/11
Best Female second - WIM Mrudul Dehankar 5/11
Best Female third - WIM Srishti Pandey 4.5/11
Best Emerging Player (Male and Female) - Apoorv Kamble 6.5/11 and WFM Diajeng Theresa Singgih (INA) 4/11
Game of the Round and Tournament
Game of the Round prize was ₹3000 for each round. Game of the Tournament prize was ₹10000.
Round 1 - FM Goutham Krishna H, win against GM Alexei Fedorov
Round 2 - GM Boris Savchenko, win against FM FT Niranjan Navalgund
Round 3 - Vivaan Vishal Shah, showcased his perseverance against the eventual champion, IM S Rohith Krishna
Round 4 - CM Rajesh Nayak, sharp win against GM Evgeny Vorobiov
Round 5 and Game of the Tournament - FM Vedant Panesar, 20-move crushing victory against the top seed, GM Boris Savchenko
Round 6 - GM Venkatesh M R, king hunt against Arnav Maheswari
Round 7 - IM S Rohith Krishna, win against the top seed GM Boris Savchenko to get into the lead
Round 8 - IM Neelash Saha, a sublime victory over FM Ritviz Parab
Round 9 - CM Mayank Chakraborty, win against GM Alexei Fedorov earned him his maiden GM and IM-norm
Round 10 - FM Ritviz Parab, roll of an outside passed pawn against GM Venkatesh M R
Round 11 - Sanket Chakravarty, winning a must-win game against GM Boris Savchenko to secure his second IM-norm and cross 2400 in the live ratings
DGT Echo helps seven-time AICFB National Champion Kishan Gangolli at 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023 | Video: ChessBase India
For more GM Round 11, Top 3 and Prize Distribution Ceremony photos, please click at the respective links. More interviews and game videos will be published soon, stay tuned.
