Abu Dhabi Masters: 11-year-old Raunak Sadhwani holds Nigel Short
The Abu Dhabi Open is one of the strongest open tournaments in the world. 12 grandmasters above 2600 are participating in this 124 player event. GM Nigel Short is the top seed. But what is astonishing is the number of Indian participants in the capital of UAE. 50 of them! And so many talents are taking part that there are bound to be brilliant games and performances. Three rounds have been completed and we bring to some of the best games, and results by Indian players.
50 Indians at the Abu Dhabi Open 2017
The Abu Dhabi Open is one of the strongest open tournaments in the world. Just have a look at the starting list below:
Starting rank
| No. | Name | FideID | FED | Rtg | ||
| 1 | GM | Short Nigel D | 400025 | ENG | 2688 | |
| 2 | GM | Amin Bassem | 10601457 | EGY | 2680 | |
| 3 | GM | Mamedov Rauf | 13401653 | AZE | 2680 | |
| 4 | GM | Korobov Anton | 14105730 | UKR | 2668 | |
| 5 | GM | Gupta Abhijeet | 5010608 | IND | 2639 | |
| 6 | GM | Lupulescu Constantin | 1207822 | ROU | 2637 | |
| 7 | GM | Efimenko Zahar | 14107201 | UKR | 2636 | |
| 8 | GM | Salem A.R. Saleh | 9301348 | UAE | 2624 | |
| 9 | GM | Adly Ahmed | 10601619 | EGY | 2619 | |
| 10 | GM | Sethuraman S.P. | 5021596 | IND | 2618 | |
| 11 | GM | Parligras Mircea-Emilian | 1204297 | ROU | 2616 | |
| 12 | GM | Hovhannisyan Robert | 13302507 | ARM | 2606 |
12 players above 2600! And the top seed is legendary Nigel Short! It's a great event and UAE being not too far, Indians decided to go in huge numbers to this tournament. 50 out of the 124 participants playing at the Dusit Thani Hotel from 12-23 August are Indians! Unbelievable! It just shows what chess boom we are witnessing in our country. And when you have such great talents at the event, there are bound to be upsets!
Nigel Short's post on Facebook after winning the third round of the Abu Dhabi Masters
Well Nigel's relief was pretty genuine as he drew his first two rounds of the tournament, and both of them against Indian players. In the first round he drew against Arjun Kalyan. Arjun was worse throughout the game, but he never let his opponent's advantage get too huge. He defended with great focus and concentration and finally made Nigel to concede the draw. It's usually not easy to do that because experienced players like Short always find ways to keep posing new problems.
[Event "24th Abu Dhabi Int. Chess Festival - Mas"]
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2017.08.14"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Short, Nigel D"]
[Black "Arjun, Kalyan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2688"]
[BlackElo "2366"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2017.08.14"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[WhiteClock "0:21:48"]
[BlackClock "0:06:46"]
1. c4 e5 2. d3 Nf6 3. Bg5 Be7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. g3 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Bg2 O-O 8. e3
d6 9. Rb1 g6 10. b4 Bg7 11. b5 Ne7 12. Nge2 a6 13. Qa4 Ra7 14. O-O b6 15. Rfd1
a5 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. Bxd5 Bb7 18. Rbc1 Qd7 19. Qb3 Qh3 20. Rd2 h5 21. Qd1 h4 22.
Qf1 Qxf1+ 23. Kxf1 hxg3 24. hxg3 Bf6 25. a4 Kg7 26. Kg2 Rh8 27. Rdd1 Bc8 28.
Rh1 Rxh1 29. Rxh1 Bb7 30. f3 Bxd5 31. cxd5 Kf8 32. e4 Ke7 33. f4 Ra8 34. Kf3
Rh8 35. Rxh8 Bxh8 36. Kg4 Bf6 37. Ng1 Kf8 38. Nf3 Ke7 39. Nd2 Kf8 40. Nb3 Ke7
41. Nd2 Kf8 42. Nf3 Ke7 43. Kh3 Bg7 44. Kg2 f5 45. Nh4 Kf6 46. Kf3 Bh6 47. Ng2
g5 48. fxg5+ Kxg5 49. Ne3 fxe4+ 50. dxe4 Bg7 51. Kg2 Bf6 52. Kh2 Kh5 53. Kh3
Kg5 54. Nf5 Kh5 55. g4+ Kg6 56. Nh4+ Kg5 57. Kg3 Kh6 58. Nf3 Kg6 59. Kh3 Be7
60. Kg2 Bf6 61. Kg3 Be7 62. Nh4+ Kg5 63. Nf3+ Kg6 64. Nh4+ Kg5 65. Ng2 Bf6 66.
Ne1 Be7 67. Nf3+ 1/2-1/2
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2017.08.14"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Short, Nigel D"]
[Black "Arjun, Kalyan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2688"]
[BlackElo "2366"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2017.08.14"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[WhiteClock "0:21:48"]
[BlackClock "0:06:46"]
1. c4 e5 2. d3 Nf6 3. Bg5 Be7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. g3 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Bg2 O-O 8. e3
d6 9. Rb1 g6 10. b4 Bg7 11. b5 Ne7 12. Nge2 a6 13. Qa4 Ra7 14. O-O b6 15. Rfd1
a5 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. Bxd5 Bb7 18. Rbc1 Qd7 19. Qb3 Qh3 20. Rd2 h5 21. Qd1 h4 22.
Qf1 Qxf1+ 23. Kxf1 hxg3 24. hxg3 Bf6 25. a4 Kg7 26. Kg2 Rh8 27. Rdd1 Bc8 28.
Rh1 Rxh1 29. Rxh1 Bb7 30. f3 Bxd5 31. cxd5 Kf8 32. e4 Ke7 33. f4 Ra8 34. Kf3
Rh8 35. Rxh8 Bxh8 36. Kg4 Bf6 37. Ng1 Kf8 38. Nf3 Ke7 39. Nd2 Kf8 40. Nb3 Ke7
41. Nd2 Kf8 42. Nf3 Ke7 43. Kh3 Bg7 44. Kg2 f5 45. Nh4 Kf6 46. Kf3 Bh6 47. Ng2
g5 48. fxg5+ Kxg5 49. Ne3 fxe4+ 50. dxe4 Bg7 51. Kg2 Bf6 52. Kh2 Kh5 53. Kh3
Kg5 54. Nf5 Kh5 55. g4+ Kg6 56. Nh4+ Kg5 57. Kg3 Kh6 58. Nf3 Kg6 59. Kh3 Be7
60. Kg2 Bf6 61. Kg3 Be7 62. Nh4+ Kg5 63. Nf3+ Kg6 64. Nh4+ Kg5 65. Ng2 Bf6 66.
Ne1 Be7 67. Nf3+ 1/2-1/2
Perhaps, the second round result was even more astonishing as one of India's brightest talents Nagpur's 11-year-old Raunak Sadhwani held the former World Championship challenger to a draw!
Raunak recently achieved his maiden IM norm at the Pardubice Open in Czech Republic. He was so solid that in spite of facing nine higher rated players he did not lose a single game.
Raunak's performance at the Czech Open where he made his maiden IM norm
Although Raunak held Nigel to a draw, the way he did it was not his usual self. Raunak is a keen calculator and a very sharp player. He opted for the exchange French (by the way he has beaten Kovalenko in this opening in Pro Chess League!) and made his intentions very clear from the start. A draw is fine for me. And it is really commendable that he was able to achieve this. This draw should boost his confidence and maybe the next time we will see the young boy fighting it out in the complex Winawer or some other system which will give his future opponent's a real taste of how strong he is.
[Event "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2017.08.15"]
[Round "2.27"]
[White "Sadhwani, Raunak"]
[Black "Short, Nigel D"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "2359"]
[BlackElo "2688"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "156"]
[EventDate "2017.08.14"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[WhiteClock "0:19:01"]
[BlackClock "0:11:15"]
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2017.08.15"]
[Round "2.27"]
[White "Sadhwani, Raunak"]
[Black "Short, Nigel D"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "2359"]
[BlackElo "2688"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "156"]
[EventDate "2017.08.14"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[WhiteClock "0:19:01"]
[BlackClock "0:11:15"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 $5 {Well, Raunak makes his intentions clear right
from move one!} exd5 4. Bd3 c5 {Interesting choice by Nigel. All he wants is
some imbalace!} 5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. O-O O-O 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 Nc6 10. Nc3
Be6 11. Qd2 a6 12. Rfe1 Re8 13. a3 Bf8 14. h3 g6 15. Ne2 Bg7 16. Ned4 Nxd4 17.
Nxd4 Qb6 18. Nxe6 Rxe6 19. Rxe6 Qxe6 20. Qb4 Qc6 21. Re1 b5 22. Bxf6 Bxf6 23.
c3 {Raunak has got a position of opposite coloured bishops. It's not so easy
for Nigel to breakthrough, but he keeps trying it.} h5 24. a4 bxa4 25. Ra1 Kg7
26. Qxa4 Qb6 27. Qb4 Qxb4 28. cxb4 Rb8 29. Ra5 $5 Rxb4 30. Rxd5 Ra4 (30... Rxb2
31. Bxa6 {would be a dead draw.}) 31. b3 Ra1+ 32. Kh2 Ra2 33. Kg1 Bc3 34. Kf1
a5 35. Bc4 a4 36. bxa4 Rxa4 37. Bb3 Rb4 38. Bd1 h4 39. Rd3 Be5 40. Bb3 f5 41.
Bd1 Rb1 42. Ke2 Ra1 43. Bb3 Kf6 44. g4 $6 {A questionable decision by Raunak,
giving his opponent a passed h-pawn.} fxg4 45. hxg4 Rg1 46. Bd5 Rxg4 {Black is
now a pawn up and psychologically it's not easy to face Nigel in such
positions. But the boy keeps fighting.} 47. Kf1 Ra4 48. Bc6 Rc4 49. Bd7 g5 50.
Rh3 Ke7 51. Bb5 Rb4 52. Be2 Bf6 53. Re3+ Kf8 (53... Kd6 $1 54. Rd3+ Ke6 55.
Re3+ Be5 $17 {Black's chances to win are as good as White's chances to draw.})
54. Bd3 Kg7 55. Kg2 Bd8 56. Bf5 Rc4 57. Re4 Rc3 58. Bg4 {Now Raunak has
blockaded everything and it is not easy to breakthrough.} Bc7 59. Re7+ Kf6 60.
Re6+ Kf7 61. Re4 Bd6 62. Bh3 Rc2 63. Bg4 Rd2 64. Kf3 Bc5 65. Re2 Rd6 66. Re5
Rf6+ 67. Rf5 {The rooks are exchanged and the game is just drawn.} Rxf5+ 68.
Bxf5 Kf6 69. Bg4 Ke5 70. Kg2 Bxf2 71. Kxf2 Kf4 72. Bc8 g4 73. Bxg4 Kxg4 74. Kg2
h3+ 75. Kh2 Kh4 76. Kh1 Kg3 77. Kg1 h2+ 78. Kh1 Kh3 {One shouldn't be entirely
pleased with Raunak's approach of play. Playing the exchange French was too
much of a passive choice, but a draw against Nigel is surely a great result.}
1/2-1/2
from move one!} exd5 4. Bd3 c5 {Interesting choice by Nigel. All he wants is
some imbalace!} 5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. O-O O-O 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 Nc6 10. Nc3
Be6 11. Qd2 a6 12. Rfe1 Re8 13. a3 Bf8 14. h3 g6 15. Ne2 Bg7 16. Ned4 Nxd4 17.
Nxd4 Qb6 18. Nxe6 Rxe6 19. Rxe6 Qxe6 20. Qb4 Qc6 21. Re1 b5 22. Bxf6 Bxf6 23.
c3 {Raunak has got a position of opposite coloured bishops. It's not so easy
for Nigel to breakthrough, but he keeps trying it.} h5 24. a4 bxa4 25. Ra1 Kg7
26. Qxa4 Qb6 27. Qb4 Qxb4 28. cxb4 Rb8 29. Ra5 $5 Rxb4 30. Rxd5 Ra4 (30... Rxb2
31. Bxa6 {would be a dead draw.}) 31. b3 Ra1+ 32. Kh2 Ra2 33. Kg1 Bc3 34. Kf1
a5 35. Bc4 a4 36. bxa4 Rxa4 37. Bb3 Rb4 38. Bd1 h4 39. Rd3 Be5 40. Bb3 f5 41.
Bd1 Rb1 42. Ke2 Ra1 43. Bb3 Kf6 44. g4 $6 {A questionable decision by Raunak,
giving his opponent a passed h-pawn.} fxg4 45. hxg4 Rg1 46. Bd5 Rxg4 {Black is
now a pawn up and psychologically it's not easy to face Nigel in such
positions. But the boy keeps fighting.} 47. Kf1 Ra4 48. Bc6 Rc4 49. Bd7 g5 50.
Rh3 Ke7 51. Bb5 Rb4 52. Be2 Bf6 53. Re3+ Kf8 (53... Kd6 $1 54. Rd3+ Ke6 55.
Re3+ Be5 $17 {Black's chances to win are as good as White's chances to draw.})
54. Bd3 Kg7 55. Kg2 Bd8 56. Bf5 Rc4 57. Re4 Rc3 58. Bg4 {Now Raunak has
blockaded everything and it is not easy to breakthrough.} Bc7 59. Re7+ Kf6 60.
Re6+ Kf7 61. Re4 Bd6 62. Bh3 Rc2 63. Bg4 Rd2 64. Kf3 Bc5 65. Re2 Rd6 66. Re5
Rf6+ 67. Rf5 {The rooks are exchanged and the game is just drawn.} Rxf5+ 68.
Bxf5 Kf6 69. Bg4 Ke5 70. Kg2 Bxf2 71. Kxf2 Kf4 72. Bc8 g4 73. Bxg4 Kxg4 74. Kg2
h3+ 75. Kh2 Kh4 76. Kh1 Kg3 77. Kg1 h2+ 78. Kh1 Kh3 {One shouldn't be entirely
pleased with Raunak's approach of play. Playing the exchange French was too
much of a passive choice, but a draw against Nigel is surely a great result.}
1/2-1/2
India's highest rated player at the event Abhijeet Gupta is having a tough time. He drew his round one against Raunak Sadhwani and lost in the third round to Valery Sviridov. He is on 1.5/3.
Sethuraman is doing well with 2.5/3 and is one of the leaders
Golden girl of Indian chess Harika Dronavali stunned Rauf Mamedov in round two and drew with Kirill Stupak in the third round. 2.5/3 and she is one of the leaders.
You all remember the famous game Karpov vs Unzicker, right? The World Champion plonked his bishop on a7 to prevent Black's co-ordination and build up his position in peace, before breaking through on the other wing.
Karpov vs Unzicker
The move Ba7 is one of the most famous ideas in chess history
Sethuraman is a recent Facebook post wrote:
"Ba7!! You must remember the game for this move. What Karpov basically does is blocks the a-file and prevents exchanges. He then builds up his position with the bishop on a7 acting as a big thorn in black's position. This move classifies as one of the greatest ever played.
When top players talk to each other, the conversation goes something like this: "Have you seen Karpov - Unzicker?" And the other one replies - "yeah Ba7!! right!" Both smile and move on! :D
We can be sure that Harika knew about this move Ba7. Look what she did in her game with Rauf Mamedov:
Of course Ba7! She blocked her opponent's activity with Ba7! and then slowly improved the position on the kingside. Of course, the win was not easy, but the India number two masterfully converted the advantage into a full point. Here's the game:
[Event "24th Abu Dhabi Int. Chess Festival - Mas"]
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2017.08.15"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Harika, Dronavalli"]
[Black "Mamedov, Rauf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D71"]
[WhiteElo "2526"]
[BlackElo "2680"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2017.08.14"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[WhiteClock "0:02:21"]
[BlackClock "0:03:51"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. b3 Bg7 6. Bg2 Ne4 7. Bb2 O-O 8. O-O
Bf5 9. e3 Nd7 10. Qe2 Qa5 11. Rc1 Bg4 12. Qe1 Qd8 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Nc3 Nxc3
15. Qxc3 a5 16. Qc7 Rb8 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 e6 19. f4 Be2 20. Bd4 b5 21. Rc6
Qxc7 22. Rxc7 Rfc8 23. Rac1 Rxc7 24. Rxc7 Bf8 25. Bf1 Bxf1 26. Kxf1 a4 27. Ke2
axb3 28. axb3 Ra8 {[%cal Gd4a7]} 29. Ba7 h5 30. Kd3 Bb4 31. h3 Kg7 32. g4 Kg8
33. Rb7 Bf8 34. Rc7 Bb4 35. Rb7 Bf8 36. Kd4 h4 37. Kd3 Kg7 38. e4 dxe4+ 39.
Kxe4 Rd8 40. Bf2 g5 41. f5 exf5+ 42. gxf5 Rd2 43. Be3 Re2 44. Kf3 Rh2 45. Bxg5
Rxh3+ 46. Kg4 Rxb3 47. Kxh4 Bb4 48. Bf6+ Kh6 49. Bg5+ Kg7 50. e6 Be1+ 51. Kg4
Rg3+ 52. Kf4 Rg2 53. Bf6+ Kh6 54. exf7 Bb4 55. Rb8 Bd6+ 56. Kf3 Rg3+ 1-0
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2017.08.15"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Harika, Dronavalli"]
[Black "Mamedov, Rauf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D71"]
[WhiteElo "2526"]
[BlackElo "2680"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2017.08.14"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[WhiteClock "0:02:21"]
[BlackClock "0:03:51"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. b3 Bg7 6. Bg2 Ne4 7. Bb2 O-O 8. O-O
Bf5 9. e3 Nd7 10. Qe2 Qa5 11. Rc1 Bg4 12. Qe1 Qd8 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Nc3 Nxc3
15. Qxc3 a5 16. Qc7 Rb8 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 e6 19. f4 Be2 20. Bd4 b5 21. Rc6
Qxc7 22. Rxc7 Rfc8 23. Rac1 Rxc7 24. Rxc7 Bf8 25. Bf1 Bxf1 26. Kxf1 a4 27. Ke2
axb3 28. axb3 Ra8 {[%cal Gd4a7]} 29. Ba7 h5 30. Kd3 Bb4 31. h3 Kg7 32. g4 Kg8
33. Rb7 Bf8 34. Rc7 Bb4 35. Rb7 Bf8 36. Kd4 h4 37. Kd3 Kg7 38. e4 dxe4+ 39.
Kxe4 Rd8 40. Bf2 g5 41. f5 exf5+ 42. gxf5 Rd2 43. Be3 Re2 44. Kf3 Rh2 45. Bxg5
Rxh3+ 46. Kg4 Rxb3 47. Kxh4 Bb4 48. Bf6+ Kh6 49. Bg5+ Kg7 50. e6 Be1+ 51. Kg4
Rg3+ 52. Kf4 Rg2 53. Bf6+ Kh6 54. exf7 Bb4 55. Rb8 Bd6+ 56. Kf3 Rg3+ 1-0
Another huge talent to watch our for is Tamil Nadu's P. Iniyan. In almost every tournament that he is playing, he is beating strong grandmasters. For eg. in Montcada Open he beat Fernando Peralta, in the Andorra Open he got the better of Romain Edouard. Now in Abu Dhabi he beat Robert Hovhannisyan. But what is important is not the win, but the way he won. Just look at this crazy, imaginative and brilliant attack.
Iniyan first sacrificed his knight on f7 square to get the king out. Objectively this might not be the best, but when the king is out in the open like this even the best lose their objectivity.
b3!?!! With all the action going on on the kingside and the centre Iniyan suddenly makes this queenside break! Mixing up things beautifully!
Who cares about a piece when you have such pawns!
[Event "24th Abu Dhabi Int. Chess Festival - Mas"]
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2017.08.16"]
[Round "3.16"]
[White "Iniyan, P."]
[Black "Hovhannisyan, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2404"]
[BlackElo "2606"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2017.08.14"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[WhiteClock "0:11:18"]
[BlackClock "0:04:30"]
[Site "Dusit Thani Hotel - Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2017.08.16"]
[Round "3.16"]
[White "Iniyan, P."]
[Black "Hovhannisyan, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2404"]
[BlackElo "2606"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2017.08.14"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[WhiteClock "0:11:18"]
[BlackClock "0:04:30"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. g3 dxc4 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. O-O b5 8. e4
Bb7 9. e5 Nd5 10. Ng5 $1 {The starting of an aggressive plan.} h6 11. Qh5 g6
12. Qh3 Be7 13. Bxd5 $5 {An interesting idea.} exd5 (13... cxd5 14. Nxb5 {
was Iniyan's idea.} Bxg5 15. Nd6+ Kf8 (15... Ke7 16. f4 {And Black is in
trouble.}) 16. Nxb7 $44) 14. f4 $1 Nf8 15. Nxf7 $1 {[%cal Gg5f7] Objectively
maybe not the best, but if you can put pressure on a 2606 player, it has to be
a good practical choice!} Kxf7 16. f5 Bc8 17. g4 Ke8 18. Qf3 gxf5 19. gxf5 Kd7
{Robert is running with his king, but the pawns are quite dangerous.} 20. b3 $5
{[%cal Gb2b3] What a move?!! Iniyan mixes up everything in the position and
opens more lines.} Kc7 21. bxc4 dxc4 22. d5 Bc5+ 23. Kh1 Bd4 24. Bb2 Bxc3 25.
d6+ Kb8 26. Bxc3 {[%csl Gd6,Ge5,Gf5]} Bb7 27. Qg3 c5+ 28. Kg1 Nh7 29. e6 Rg8
30. Bg7 Ng5 31. d7+ Qc7 32. Rfd1 Qxg3+ 33. hxg3 Kc7 34. Be5+ Kb6 35. Bf6 Kc7
36. e7 {[%csl Gd7,Ge7]} Nf7 37. d8=Q+ Nxd8 38. exd8=Q+ Raxd8 39. Rxd8 Rxd8 40.
Bxd8+ Kxd8 {The complications have ended and White is winning! Iniyan finishes
it off with perfection.} 41. Re1 Kc7 42. Re5 Kd6 43. f6 Kxe5 44. f7 Be4 45.
f8=Q Kd4 46. Qf6+ Kd3 47. Qd6+ Kc2 48. Qxc5 c3 49. Kf2 Bd3 50. Ke3 a5 51. Qa3
Bc4 52. Qxa5 1-0
Bb7 9. e5 Nd5 10. Ng5 $1 {The starting of an aggressive plan.} h6 11. Qh5 g6
12. Qh3 Be7 13. Bxd5 $5 {An interesting idea.} exd5 (13... cxd5 14. Nxb5 {
was Iniyan's idea.} Bxg5 15. Nd6+ Kf8 (15... Ke7 16. f4 {And Black is in
trouble.}) 16. Nxb7 $44) 14. f4 $1 Nf8 15. Nxf7 $1 {[%cal Gg5f7] Objectively
maybe not the best, but if you can put pressure on a 2606 player, it has to be
a good practical choice!} Kxf7 16. f5 Bc8 17. g4 Ke8 18. Qf3 gxf5 19. gxf5 Kd7
{Robert is running with his king, but the pawns are quite dangerous.} 20. b3 $5
{[%cal Gb2b3] What a move?!! Iniyan mixes up everything in the position and
opens more lines.} Kc7 21. bxc4 dxc4 22. d5 Bc5+ 23. Kh1 Bd4 24. Bb2 Bxc3 25.
d6+ Kb8 26. Bxc3 {[%csl Gd6,Ge5,Gf5]} Bb7 27. Qg3 c5+ 28. Kg1 Nh7 29. e6 Rg8
30. Bg7 Ng5 31. d7+ Qc7 32. Rfd1 Qxg3+ 33. hxg3 Kc7 34. Be5+ Kb6 35. Bf6 Kc7
36. e7 {[%csl Gd7,Ge7]} Nf7 37. d8=Q+ Nxd8 38. exd8=Q+ Raxd8 39. Rxd8 Rxd8 40.
Bxd8+ Kxd8 {The complications have ended and White is winning! Iniyan finishes
it off with perfection.} 41. Re1 Kc7 42. Re5 Kd6 43. f6 Kxe5 44. f7 Be4 45.
f8=Q Kd4 46. Qf6+ Kd3 47. Qd6+ Kc2 48. Qxc5 c3 49. Kf2 Bd3 50. Ke3 a5 51. Qa3
Bc4 52. Qxa5 1-0
Playing like the great Misha Tal: P. Iniyan
IM Nihal Sarin has 2.0/3 with a win and two draws. One against Srija Seshadri and the other against Adly Ahmed.
Rank after Round 3
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | n | w | we | w-we | K | rtg+/- | ||
| 1 | 31 | GM | Harika Dronavalli | IND | 2526 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2627 | 5,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 1,57 | 0,93 | 10 | 9,3 | |
| 2 | 52 | IM | Iniyan P | IND | 2404 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2593 | 3,5 | 3 | 2,5 | 1,36 | 1,14 | 10 | 11,4 | |
| 3 | 10 | GM | Sethuraman S.P. | IND | 2618 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2507 | 5,5 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,14 | 0,36 | 10 | 3,6 | |
| 4 | 32 | Sviridov Valery | RUS | 2519 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2502 | 4,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 1,91 | 0,59 | 10 | 5,9 | ||
| 5 | 24 | GM | Idani Pouya | IRI | 2569 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2500 | 4,5 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,04 | 0,46 | 10 | 4,6 | |
| 6 | 14 | GM | Andersen Mads | DEN | 2586 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2493 | 5,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,09 | 0,41 | 10 | 4,1 | |
| 7 | 17 | GM | Paichadze Luka | GEO | 2581 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2491 | 6,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,10 | 0,40 | 10 | 4,0 | |
| 8 | 16 | GM | Indjic Aleksandar | SRB | 2581 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2491 | 5,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,09 | 0,41 | 10 | 4,1 | |
| 9 | 26 | GM | Wagner Dennis | GER | 2563 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2482 | 6,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,08 | 0,42 | 10 | 4,2 | |
| 10 | 27 | GM | Bernadskiy Vitaliy | UKR | 2562 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2479 | 5,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,08 | 0,42 | 10 | 4,2 | |
| 11 | 20 | GM | Rozum Ivan | RUS | 2579 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2469 | 5,5 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,16 | 0,34 | 10 | 3,4 | |
| 12 | 22 | GM | Deac Bogdan-Daniel | ROU | 2573 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2463 | 6,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,16 | 0,34 | 10 | 3,4 | |
| 13 | 23 | GM | Stupak Kirill | BLR | 2573 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2462 | 6,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,17 | 0,33 | 10 | 3,3 | |
| 14 | 15 | GM | Pantsulaia Levan | GEO | 2585 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2443 | 4,5 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,23 | 0,27 | 10 | 2,7 | |
| 15 | 2 | GM | Amin Bassem | EGY | 2680 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2436 | 4,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,51 | -0,01 | 10 | -0,1 | |
| 16 | 7 | GM | Efimenko Zahar | UKR | 2636 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2433 | 4,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,43 | 0,07 | 10 | 0,7 | |
| 17 | 19 | GM | Karthikeyan Murali | IND | 2579 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2432 | 4,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,27 | 0,23 | 10 | 2,3 | |
| 18 | 21 | GM | Ter-Sahakyan Samvel | ARM | 2577 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2412 | 4,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,31 | 0,19 | 10 | 1,9 | |
| 19 | 28 | GM | Batchuluun Tsegmed | MGL | 2555 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2410 | 6,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,23 | 0,27 | 10 | 2,7 | |
| 20 | 29 | GM | Ghaem Maghami Ehsan | IRI | 2540 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2408 | 4,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,22 | 0,28 | 10 | 2,8 | |
| 21 | 30 | GM | Mekhitarian Krikor Sevag | BRA | 2534 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2404 | 4,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,22 | 0,28 | 10 | 2,8 | |
| 22 | 25 | GM | Gabuzyan Hovhannes | ARM | 2566 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2394 | 4,5 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,33 | 0,17 | 10 | 1,7 | |
| 23 | 40 | GM | Gagare Shardul | IND | 2467 | 2,5 | 0,0 | 2389 | 3,0 | 3 | 2,5 | 2,05 | 0,45 | 10 | 4,5 |
Overview of results of Indian players
| 5 | GM | Gupta Abhijeet | 2639 | IND | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1,5 | 68 | 10 | -8,30 | Masters |
| 10 | GM | Sethuraman S.P. | 2618 | IND | 1 | 1 | ½ | 2,5 | 3 | 10 | 3,60 | Masters |
| 19 | GM | Karthikeyan Murali | 2579 | IND | 1 | ½ | 1 | 2,5 | 17 | 10 | 2,30 | Masters |
| 31 | GM | Harika Dronavalli | 2526 | IND | 1 | 1 | ½ | 2,5 | 1 | 10 | 9,30 | Masters |
| 35 | GM | Aryan Chopra | 2507 | IND | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1,5 | 50 | 10 | 0,70 | Masters |
| 37 | IM | Puranik Abhimanyu | 2495 | IND | 1 | ½ | ½ | 2,0 | 24 | 10 | 5,50 | Masters |
| 38 | FM | Nihal Sarin | 2485 | IND | ½ | 1 | ½ | 2,0 | 45 | 10 | -0,60 | Masters |
| 40 | GM | Gagare Shardul | 2467 | IND | ½ | 1 | 1 | 2,5 | 23 | 10 | 4,50 | Masters |
| 41 | IM | Vignesh N R | 2448 | IND | 1 | ½ | ½ | 2,0 | 27 | 10 | 5,60 | Masters |
| 45 | GM | Neelotpal Das | 2441 | IND | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1,5 | 57 | 10 | 0,30 | Masters |
| 46 | Raja Harshit | 2434 | IND | 1 | ½ | ½ | 2,0 | 26 | 10 | 6,30 | Masters | |
| 52 | IM | Iniyan P | 2404 | IND | 1 | ½ | 1 | 2,5 | 2 | 10 | 11,40 | Masters |
| 54 | IM | Raghunandan Kaumandur Srihari | 2398 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2,0 | 42 | 10 | 2,00 | Masters |
| 55 | IM | Karavade Eesha | 2397 | IND | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1,5 | 73 | 10 | -3,20 | Masters |
| 56 | IM | Tania Sachdev | 2392 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2,0 | 43 | 10 | 2,00 | Masters |
| 60 | Saravana Krishnan P. | 2378 | IND | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1,5 | 74 | 20 | -7,20 | Masters | |
| 62 | Arjun Kalyan | 2366 | IND | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1,5 | 52 | 20 | 8,80 | Masters | |
| 63 | CM | Gukesh D | 2365 | IND | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1,5 | 55 | 20 | 7,20 | Masters |
| 64 | Jeet Jain | 2361 | IND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1,0 | 86 | 20 | -10,00 | Masters | |
| 65 | FM | Rajdeep Sarkar | 2360 | IND | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2,0 | 39 | 20 | 8,40 | Masters |
| 66 | FM | Sadhwani Raunak | 2359 | IND | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1,5 | 51 | 20 | 9,80 | Masters |
| 71 | Saurabh Anand | 2332 | IND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1,0 | 80 | 20 | -2,80 | Masters | |
| 73 | IM | Sangma Rahul | 2325 | IND | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1,0 | 96 | 10 | -6,40 | Masters |
| 76 | Muthaiah Al | 2292 | IND | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1,5 | 62 | 20 | 6,60 | Masters | |
| 77 | Ashwath R. | 2290 | IND | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1,0 | 98 | 20 | -10,80 | Masters | |
| 82 | Shailesh Dravid | 2254 | IND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1,0 | 84 | 20 | -2,60 | Masters | |
| 83 | Gurpreet Singh Maras | 2247 | IND | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1,5 | 64 | 20 | 7,60 | Masters | |
| 84 | Hari Madhavan N B | 2246 | IND | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2,0 | 33 | 40 | 34,40 | Masters | |
| 85 | Patil Pratik | 2246 | IND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1,0 | 85 | 20 | -2,80 | Masters | |
| 89 | Vantika Agrawal | 2238 | IND | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2,0 | 36 | 40 | 29,60 | Masters | |
| 90 | CM | Aditya Mittal | 2236 | IND | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0,5 | 105 | 40 | -3,20 | Masters |
| 91 | Dileep Kumar R | 2234 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0,5 | 107 | 40 | -23,20 | Masters | |
| 92 | Mithil Ajgaonkar | 2224 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0,5 | 108 | 20 | -11,80 | Masters | |
| 93 | Kumar Gaurav | 2210 | IND | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1,0 | 79 | 40 | 25,20 | Masters | |
| 96 | Kulkarni Vinayak | 2204 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0,5 | 109 | 20 | -12,00 | Masters | |
| 97 | Abhilash Reddy M.L. | 2188 | IND | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1,0 | 90 | 20 | -0,40 | Masters | |
| 98 | WIM | Nandhidhaa Pv | 2182 | IND | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1,5 | 60 | 20 | 20,00 | Masters |
| 99 | WIM | Pratyusha Bodda | 2171 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0,5 | 110 | 20 | -10,00 | Masters |
| 100 | WFM | Srija Seshadri | 2167 | IND | ½ | 1 | ½ | 2,0 | 29 | 20 | 32,00 | Masters |
| 103 | Priyanka Nutakki | 2160 | IND | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1,0 | 88 | 40 | 9,60 | Masters | |
| 104 | WCM | Mrudul Dehankar | 2155 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0,5 | 111 | 40 | -20,00 | Masters |
| 105 | WIM | Pujari Rucha | 2153 | IND | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1,0 | 94 | 20 | 5,20 | Masters |
| 107 | WIM | Mahalakshmi M | 2140 | IND | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1,5 | 65 | 20 | 21,00 | Masters |
| 108 | WFM | Varshini V | 2140 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0,5 | 112 | 20 | -12,80 | Masters |
| 111 | FM | Harshal Shahi | 2130 | IND | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1,0 | 97 | 40 | 12,40 | Masters |
| 113 | Senthil Maran K | 2124 | IND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1,0 | 95 | 20 | 6,60 | Masters | |
| 114 | FM | Phadke Sohan | 2111 | IND | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1,0 | 89 | 20 | 9,00 | Masters |
| 115 | CM | Bhagwat Vinod | 2109 | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0,0 | 122 | 20 | -16,20 | Masters |
| 117 | Priyanka K | 2106 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0,5 | 117 | 40 | -13,20 | Masters | |
| 119 | WIM | Michelle Catherina P | 2101 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0,5 | 119 | 20 | -7,60 | Masters |
| 120 | WIM | Chitlange Sakshi |