RTU Open 2021 R5-6: Nihal's missed opportunities

by Shahid Ahmed - 13/08/2021

Nihal Sarin played a fantastic game against Aram Hakobyan by sacrificing two minor pieces in the fifth round of Riga Technical University Open 2021. He was on the brink of a win, but he missed it and had to repeat the moves to make a draw. In the following round, he missed a simple tactic against Pultinevicius and that game also led to a draw. Narayanan S L also had Arjun Erigaisi on the ropes, but he let him loose, and he escaped with a draw. With just three rounds to go and seven players sharing the lead, the tournament can be won by anyone. Round 7 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST respectively. Photo: Rupali Mullick

Gukesh, Narayanan and Arjuns in a seven-way lead

Seven players share the lead 5.0/6 at the conclusion of Round 6. They are - Kovalenko, Narayanan, Hakobyan, Arjun Erigaisi, Arjun Kalyan, Budisavljevic and Gukesh. Nihal, Aravindh, Karthikeyan, Pranav Anand and Aditya are just a half point behind at 4.5/6 along with 17 other players.

Nihal missed winning chances against Hakobyan and Pultinevicius | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Round 5: Nihal - Hakobyan: 0.5-0.5

Nihal sacrificed two minor pieces and got himself a promising position.

Position after 29...Kg7

The game continued 30.fxe6 which allowed 30...Qg3. Instead of 30.fxe6, White could have prevented Qg3 with 30.e5, a blockade as well as a threat on f6. Even after 30...Qg3 31.Rf1 would have kept the chances. Time scramble probably forced Nihal to repeat moves and take a draw.

Narayanan - Kulaots: 1-0

Narayanan S L scored a fine victory over GM Kaido Kulaots (EST) after the latter made a strange retreat in the endgame.

Position after 29..Ba5

29...Ba5 instantly loses the game for Black. Find out why.

Visakh - Erigaisi: 0-1

Visakh N R succumbed to Arjun Erigaisi's devastating attack.

Position after 19.Bc2

The e4-knight was en prise for five moves, yet taking it would have led to a quicker disaster. Black is ready to wreak havoc in the above position. How?

Round 6: Arjun Erigaisi - Narayanan: 0.5-0.5

Arjun Erigaisi had an interesting draw with compatriot Narayanan S L. Initially he had an opportunity to gain the upper hand which he missed and it was Narayanan who was better for the most part of the game.

Position after 20.Bc3

Perhaps Black's best chance in the game occurred in the above position when White played 20.Bc3. Find out the best continuation for Black.

Pultinevicius - Nihal: 0.5-0.5

Nihal missed a win against GM Paulius Pultinevicius (LTU).

Position after 34.Rb5

It is not every day Nihal misses simple tactics like this. He probably overlooked it due to time pressure, which cost him an important half point. Find out the winning continuation for Black in the above position.

Praggnanandhaa - Arjun Kalyan: 0-1

Praggnanandhaa lost to GM Arjun Kalyan after struggling to find balance for the better part of the game.

Highlights

Here are a few interesting finishes from Round 5 and 6:

GM Nihal Sarin drew with GM Aram Hakobyan (ARM), Round 5

GM Ilia Smirin (ISR) drew with GM Paulius Pultinevicius (LTU), Round 5

GM Karthikeyan Murali drew with IM Aditya Mittal, Round 5

GM Velimir Ivic (SRB) defeated IM Ravi Haria (ENG), Round 5

GM D Gukesh drew with GM Ilia Smirin (ISR), Round 6

IM Pranav Anand defeated GM Visakh N R, Round 6

Replay Round 5-6 games

Round 5 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	2	GM	Nihal Sarin	2655	3½	½ - ½	4	GM	Hakobyan Aram	2612	7
2	3	GM	Kovalenko Igor	2644	3½	1 - 0	3½	GM	Yuffa Daniil	2556	17
3	6	GM	Narayanan.S.L	2624	3½	1 - 0	3½	GM	Kulaots Kaido	2548	19
4	8	GM	Smirin Ilia	2610	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	Pultinevicius Paulius	2528	21
5	20	GM	Kantor Gergely	2533	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	2608	9
6	22	GM	Visakh N R	2516	3½	0 - 1	3½	GM	Erigaisi Arjun	2597	11
7	74	CM	Vardanyan Aras	2255	3½	0 - 1	3½	GM	Gukesh D	2578	13
8	16	GM	Sanal Vahap	2557	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	Grigorov Grigor	2507	23
9	36	IM	Dmitrenko Viktor	2444	3	0 - 1	3	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	2641	5
10	10	GM	Karthikeyan Murali	2606	3	½ - ½	3	IM	Aditya Mittal	2464	35
11	12	GM	Puranik Abhimanyu	2580	3	½ - ½	3	IM	Petkov Momchil	2443	37
12	14	GM	Ivic Velimir	2571	3	1 - 0	3	IM	Haria Ravi	2440	39
13	42	IM	Plotkin Mark	2430	3	0 - 1	3	GM	Meshkovs Nikita	2568	15
14	18	IM	Laurusas Tomas	2549	3	½ - ½	3	IM	Pranav Anand	2417	46
15	24	IM	Arjun Kalyan	2503	3	1 - 0	3	IM	Raja Rithvik R	2433	41

Details

Round 6 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	7	GM	Hakobyan Aram	2612	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Kovalenko Igor	2644	3
2	11	GM	Erigaisi Arjun	2597	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Narayanan.S.L	2624	6
3	13	GM	Gukesh D	2578	4½	½ - ½	4	GM	Smirin Ilia	2610	8
4	21	GM	Pultinevicius Paulius	2528	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Nihal Sarin	2655	2
5	5	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	2641	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Sanal Vahap	2557	16
6	9	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	2608	4	0 - 1	4	IM	Arjun Kalyan	2503	24
7	23	GM	Grigorov Grigor	2507	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Ivic Velimir	2571	14
8	15	GM	Meshkovs Nikita	2568	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Kantor Gergely	2533	20
9	27	GM	Budisavljevic Luka	2495	4	1 - 0	3½	GM	Sethuraman S.P.	2644	4
10	1	GM	Donchenko Alexander	2657	3½	1 - 0	3½	IM	Berzinsh Roland	2373	52
11	43	IM	Vignesh N R	2428	3½	0 - 1	3½	GM	Karthikeyan Murali	2606	10
12	44	IM	Ioannidis Evgenios	2422	3½	1 - 0	3½	GM	Puranik Abhimanyu	2580	12
13	17	GM	Yuffa Daniil	2556	3½	1 - 0	3½	GM	Akesson Ralf	2395	48
14	45	FM	Dudin Gleb	2422	3½	0 - 1	3½	IM	Laurusas Tomas	2549	18
15	19	GM	Kulaots Kaido	2548	3½	0 - 1	3½	FM	Chukavin Kirill	2370	54

Details

Round 7 pairings

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	3	GM	Kovalenko Igor	2644	5		5	GM	Gukesh D	2578	13
2	6	GM	Narayanan.S.L	2624	5		5	GM	Budisavljevic Luka	2495	27
3	24	IM	Arjun Kalyan	2503	5		5	GM	Hakobyan Aram	2612	7
4	10	GM	Karthikeyan Murali	2606	4½		5	GM	Erigaisi Arjun	2597	11
5	26	GM	Kantans Toms	2501	4½		4½	GM	Donchenko Alexander	2657	1
6	2	GM	Nihal Sarin	2655	4½		4½	GM	Grigorov Grigor	2507	23
7	38	FM	Stukan Martin	2443	4½		4½	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	2641	5
8	8	GM	Smirin Ilia	2610	4½		4½	IM	Roshka Yevgeniy	2476	31
9	14	GM	Ivic Velimir	2571	4½		4½	GM	Pultinevicius Paulius	2528	21
10	78		Kugler Florian	2223	4½		4½	GM	Meshkovs Nikita	2568	15
11	16	GM	Sanal Vahap	2557	4½		4½	GM	Miezis Normunds	2468	33
12	54	FM	Chukavin Kirill	2370	4½		4½	GM	Yuffa Daniil	2556	17
13	18	IM	Laurusas Tomas	2549	4½		4½	IM	Aditya Mittal	2464	35
14	20	GM	Kantor Gergely	2533	4½		4½	IM	Ioannidis Evgenios	2422	44
15	46	IM	Pranav Anand	2417	4½		4	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	2608	9

Details

Links

Official site

Tournament details

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