Vugar Rasulov wins Play for Durgesh Fundraiser Open
360 players from all over the world participated in Play for Durgesh Fundraiser Online Blitz Open. Over 11 lacs funds were raised which we have already mentioned a few days ago. Four players finished at 8.0/9, Vugar Rasulov, Terry Renato, Harsha Bharathakoti and Vugar Asadli. They were placed first to fourth according to their tie-breaks. The entire prize of ₹50000 was sponsored by Durgesh's good friend Sushrutha Reddy under the aegis of United Karnataka Chess Association. Lucky prizes were added to the donation as the tournament had to be truncated by one round due to technical issues. Photo: Azeri news
Four players finish at 8.0/9
GM Vugar Rasulov (AZE), IM Terry Renato (PER), GM Harsha Bharathakoti (IND) and GM Vugar Asadli (AZE) scored 8.0/9. Rasulov won the tournament due to better tie-breaks, Terry, Harsha and Asadli were placed second to fourth according to the tie-breaks. Prior to the tournament, former National Junior Champion GM Harsha Bharathakoti had already requested to donate his entire prize winnings, no matter whatever he wins and he won a handsome ₹7000. GM Shardul Gagare, IM Leon Mendonca Luke and IM Arghyadip Das also donated their entire prize winnings. World no.10 and Dutch no.1 GM Anish Giri was the star attraction of the event as he played and live streamed the event. Reigning National Under-17 girls champion Samriddhaa Ghosh created a few records for a ChessBase India Online Blitz Open.
Total 360 players including 9 GMs and 11 IMs participated from India, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Canada, England, Germany, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia and USA in this 9-Round Swiss League event.
Boobyfisher beats Giri
He started well with 6.0/6, but due to technical issues, Round 6 had to be restarted. Giri was away from computer thus he lost valuable time which affected his game.
Giri - Boobyfisher, Round 6
21.Rd2 is not incorrect, however white needs to be careful about something. What is it?
Surprisingly the biggest error of the game also happened at the d2-square. Find out why 37.Bd2 is a blunder.
IM Leon Mendonca Luke who is on the brink of becoming India's next GM, might have scored 7.0/9 and finished 8th, but his biggest takeaway from the tournament is playing against World no.10 and Dutch no.1 Anish Giri twice and scoring his first ever victory against him.
Battle of the Azerbaijanis
In Round 8, GM Vugar Rasulov of Azerbaijan scored a clinical win over compatriot IM Kanan Garayev
KananGarayev - Rasulov Vugar, Round 8
Delaying castle presented black an opportunity after 10.b3. How can black capitalize on it?
Replay all games of Vugar Rasulov
Terry's great win over Giri
TerryR (IM Terry Renato) of Peru might not have won the tournament, but he got the best thing he could ask for and that is to beat World no.10 GM Anish Giri.
TerryR - Anish Giri, Round 7
Find out how should white continue after 19...Ng8.
Replay all games of Terry Renato
Raceking halts Boobyfisher
RACEKING (GM Harsha Bharathakoti) handed Boobyfisher (IM Leon Mendonca) his second consecutive loss.
RACEKING - Boobyfisher, Round 9
Find out the best continuation for black after 21.c4. Black made the inaccuracy with 21...h6. Try to find out why it is a mistake.
Replay all games of Harsha Bharathakoti
Samriddhaa creates record
Reigning National and West Bengal State Under-17 Girls champion Samriddhaa Ghosh made a fantastic start with 5.0/5, finished with 7.0/9 and was placed tenth. She is the first woman to score 5.0/5 and finish in top 10 among all ChessBase India Online Blitz events held this year. She also finished higher than top seed and only woman to finish in top 50 in this event. Her best win was against Goa's latest IM Ameya Audi.
Samriddhaa - Audi_S_Tesla, Round 7
21.Ke3 looks a bit awkward for white. Find out why so.
Replay the Live stream
Final Standings
Main Prize winners (Top 25)
| Rank | Name | Points | Prize |
| 1 | GM Vugar Rasulov | 8 | ₹10000 |
| 2 | IM Terry R | 8 | ₹8000 |
| 3 | GM Harsha Bharathakoti | 8 | ₹7000 |
| 4 | GM Vugar Asadli | 8 | ₹5000 |
| 5 | IM Arjun Kalyan | 7.5 | ₹3000 |
| 6 | IM Kanan Garayev | 7.5 | ₹2000 |
| 7 | IM Aronyak Ghosh | 7.5 | ₹1000 |
| 8 | IM Leon Mendonca | 7 | ₹1000 |
| 9 | GM Shardul Gagare | 7 | ₹1000 |
| 10 | Samriddhaa Ghosh | 7 | ₹1000 |
| 11 | GM Anish Giri | 7 | ₹500 |
| 12 | GM Laxman R R | 7 | ₹500 |
| 13 | IM Francesco Sonis | 7 | ₹500 |
| 14 | IM Mitrabha Guha | 7 | ₹500 |
| 15 | IM Bala Chandra Prasad | 7 | ₹500 |
| 16 | Andrzej Stuczynski | 7 | ₹500 |
| 17 | FM Dushyant Sharma | 7 | ₹500 |
| 18 | GM Girish Koushik | 7 | ₹500 |
| 19 | Arunava Bhattacharjee | 7 | ₹500 |
| 20 | FM Aaryan Varshney | 7 | ₹500 |
| 21 | Sanket Chakravarthy | 7 | ₹500 |
| 22 | S Srujan Keerthan | 7 | ₹500 |
| 23 | IM Arghyadip Das | 6.5 | ₹500 |
| 24 | Arpith S Bijoy | 6.5 | ₹500 |
| 25 | Aaron Reeve | 6.5 | ₹500 |
The criteria for Lucky Prizes is to play in all rounds. Since the tournament got truncated by one round due to technical issues, the lucky prizes were added to the donation.
Links
Edit: IM Arjun Kalyan's rank is corrected.
