Aeroflot Open 2017 shows the depth in Indian chess
The Aeroflot Open 2017 was one of the most important tournaments from an Indian point of view in the last few days. Big stars like Adhiban, Sasikiran, Sethuraman, Vidit, Abhijeet and many more grandmasters were taking part at the event. While none of them could achieve anything special, there were fresh names who performed really well. We take a look at them and give you an idea about how Indian chess is really growing in a huge way. If one player doesn't perform well, someone else does! Detailed report with pictures, analysis and much more.
Pictures by Eteri Kublashvili and Vasily Papin
Back in 2000s, I was very interested in cricket. In that period cricket in India was synonymous to one name - Sachin Tendulkar. The moment he entered the field to bat everyone would leave all the work and watch the master in action. When he was dismissed, hearts were broken all over the nation and people slowly shut down their televisions or lost interest in the game. Although cricket was a team game, it had become a one-man show.
The same was the case with Indian chess! Being an individual sport, things are quite different here. But we had this gem of an individual performing all alone at the elite events for many years. Chess in India had become synonymous to Vishy Anand. While Anand still remains our best player by quite some margin, recent events have shown that we are a fast improving nation. Harikrishna, as per Elo, is right behind him. Adhiban by finishing third at the Tata Steel Masters made a very strong announcement. Of course, Vidit, Sethuraman, Sasikiran, Abhijeet Gupta, Ganguly on their better days can give the best in the business a run for their money.
And the amazing thing is that our development is not just limited here. We also have the next tier of players including Karthikeyan Murali, Aravindh Chithambaram and S.L. Narayanan who are fast improving and will very soon enter the 2600 zone! And then the two little gems: Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin! Suffice it to say, we have the back up that will last for a very long time in the coming years.
The Aeroflot blitz is held after the normal Aeroflot event comes to an end. It is a huge tournament with 18 rounds (2 against the same opponent with different colours). A lot of the top players attend it because of the high prize fund. The winner takes home 5,000 euros! Sergey Karjakin, who lives in Moscow, decided to participate in the blitz tournament. He was beaten 1.5-0.5 by S.L. Narayanan. An amazing performance!
12-year-old Nihal Sarin is Kerala's 4th International Master, one of the youngest in the world. Nihal has become an International Master (IM) at the tender age of 12 years and 08 months. He is the second youngest International Master ever in India, and third youngest in the world currently. Nihal's feat is reminiscent of the current world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who had also become an IM at the age of 12 years and 8 months in 2003. This boy has a very bright future!
Abhishek's performance was 2611 and he gained 27 Elo points at the event. This would have been good enough for a GM norm, just that he didn't meet enough grandmasters. Yet, this was a wonderful performance and it is simply amazing how Abhishek is managing everything in life. He has a job, works in the Kunte chess academy and also plays chess at a very high level! Expect an article soon on how he manages his time so well!
Here's one of his best wins from the event:
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2017.02.26"]
[Round "6.13"]
[White "Demidov, Mikhail"]
[Black "Abhishek, Kelkar"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2534"]
[BlackElo "2381"]
[Annotator "Sagar,Shah"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2017.02.21"]
transposition of moves we have reached the Pirc's defense. As could be clearly
seen from his games Abhishek wasn't too keen on get an opening advantage. He
was trying out new stuff.} e5 8. dxe5 Nxe5 9. h3 Re8 10. Nd4 Bd7 11. Re1 c5 $5
{It's true that the d6 pawn is now weak and the d5 square as well, but Black
get's dynamic play in return.} 12. Ndb5 Re6 $1 13. Bg5 (13. Nxd6 Qb6 $1 {
And the knight is trapped.}) 13... a6 14. Na3 b5 {And suddenly we have
Sveshnikov like themes in action!} 15. f4 (15. Nd5 b4 16. Nb1 {would have been
relatively the best.}) 15... b4 16. fxe5 Rxe5 17. Bf4 Nh5 $1 {An excellent
move. White is a piece down and his rook is attacked, but he couldn't care
less!} 18. Nc4 $1 {A good reply by Demidov.} bxc3 19. Bxe5 dxe5 20. bxc3 (20.
Kh2 $14 {was better.}) 20... Nxg3 {These are the kind of positions Kelkar
revels in. Complex and filled with lots of hidden tactical resources.} 21. Qd3
Bb5 22. a4 Bxc4 23. Qxc4 Qg5 $15 {I already prefer Black here.} 24. Rad1 Nh5
25. Rd7 Rf8 26. Qe2 Nf4 {The knight sits beautifully on the f4 square.} 27. Qg4
Qf6 28. Bf1 h5 29. Qd1 c4 30. a5 Rc8 31. Qf3 Qc6 32. Red1 Qc5+ 33. Kh1 Qxa5 34.
Qe3 Bf8 35. Qd2 Qc5 36. Rb1 Qc6 37. Rbb7 Qxe4+ (37... Rd8 $1 38. Rxd8 Qxb7 $17)
38. Kh2 $2 (38. Bg2 $1 $11) 38... Rd8 $1 39. Rxd8 Qxb7 40. Qd6 Ne6 {Black now
has three pawns and the safer king, the rest is not so difficult.} 41. Rd7 Qf3
42. Qd1 Qf4+ 43. Kh1 Nc5 44. Rc7 Ne4 45. Qe1 Nd2 46. Bg2 e4 47. Rc8 Kg7 48. Qg1
Bd6 49. Re8 Be5 50. Re7 a5 51. Ra7 Nf3 52. Bxf3 exf3 53. Qf2 Qc1+ 54. Qg1 Qxc2
55. Ra8 f2 {A great game by Abhishek.} 0-1
Rucha reached 2200 elo in 2012. She is clearly a player who deserves the WIM title. But somehow it had kept eluding her. Not any longer. The girl from Kolhapur took the brave decision of playing in both the B and C category and made sure to get her final norm. She also gained a solid 40+ Elo points. Playing two rounds a day is never easy. With her current level of play, we expect Rucha to achieve her WGM title within a year!
Speaking to Adhiban after the event, the Chennai lad said, "It's true that I didn't perform well. But the question I ask myself is, Is this going to stop me? And the answer is No! And so I continue my work on the path of improvement!" Let's hope each one of us can have an attitude like Adhiban! He is the best example of the saying: "Attitude, not aptitude decides your altitude!" Although we must add that there is no doubt that he has a high aptitude as well at chess!
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2017.03.01"]
[Round "9.13"]
[White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Black "Bindrich, Falko"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]
[BlackElo "2590"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2017.02.21"]
dxe4 9. dxe4 Bc5 10. a4 a5 11. Nbd2 O-O 12. Nc4 Qc7 13. Bd2 b6 14. Nh4 Rfe8 15.
Kh1 Bg6 16. Rd1 Nf8 17. Bg5 N6d7 18. Nf5 Ne6 19. Ncd6 Bxd6 20. Nxd6 Reb8 21.
Be7 Ndc5 22. Nf5 Nb7 23. Qc3 Nec5 24. Bg5 Re8 25. b3 f6 26. Be3 Rad8 27. f4 Kh8
28. fxe5 fxe5 29. Qc4 Bh5 30. Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Bg5 Rb8 32. Nxg7 $1 {A strong
move! White is already winning, but the prettiest move of the game comes on
the next turn.} Nd6 {[#] What would you play as White?} 33. Ne8 $3 {A very
nice interference!} Bf7 (33... Nxe8 34. Rf8+ $18) (33... Rxe8 34. Bf6+ $18) 34.
Nxc7 Bxc4 35. bxc4 Rc8 36. Bf6+ Kg8 37. Bxe5 Nxc4 38. Bf4 Nxa4 39. h4 1-0
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2017.03.01"]
[Round "9.16"]
[White "Gupta, Abhijeet"]
[Black "Sandipan, Chanda"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A80"]
[WhiteElo "2645"]
[BlackElo "2573"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2017.02.21"]
a3 g6 9. O-O Bh6 10. b3 Nc6 11. Na4 b6 12. c4 Ne7 13. Nac3 O-O 14. Qc2 c6 15.
Rac1 dxc4 16. Bxc4 Bxc4 17. bxc4 h4 18. h3 g5 19. d5 c5 20. Rcd1 g4 21. Nf4
Bxf4 22. exf4 gxh3 23. g3 Nc8 24. Rfe1 Nd6 {Let's join the game from this
point onwards. White has a better structure, but Black has some attacking
opportunities on the kingside. Not to forget, that Black is a pawn up. However,
the position is complex and both sides have their chances. It is especially
interesting to see how two strong players approach such a complicated position.
} 25. Re6 Rf7 (25... Rae8 26. Rde1 b5 $5 {Might have been more to the point.})
26. Rde1 Kh8 27. Kh2 Rg8 28. Rxd6 $5 {A very brave exchange sacrifice.} Qxd6
29. Qxf5 hxg3+ 30. fxg3 Qf8 31. Ne4 {The quality of White's pieces is just way
better than Black's} Qg7 32. Re3 Qh7 33. Qe6 Re7 34. Qxf6+ Rgg7 35. d6 $1 {
Very well calculated by Abhijeet.} Rxe4 36. d7 Rxe3 (36... Rd4 37. Re8+ $18)
37. d8=Q+ Qg8 {It's not often that you get to see such a position in a
middlegame! White has made a queen but materially it is still around even!} 38.
Qh6+ (38. Qh6+ Rh7 39. Qdf6+ Qg7 40. Qfxg7# {[#] is one hell of a pretty mate!}
) 1-0
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2017.02.28"]
[Round "8.25"]
[White "Sandipan, Chanda"]
[Black "Kobalia, Mikhail"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2573"]
[BlackElo "2628"]
[Annotator "Sagar,Shah"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2017.02.21"]
4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 e6 6. c3 cxd4 7. exd4 Nh5 {This is the way Wesley So met the
London System against Anish Giri.} 8. Be3 Bd6 9. Ne5 g6 10. Be2 Ng7 11. f4 f6
12. Nd3 Nf5 13. Bf2 h5 14. Nf3 Qc7 15. Nh4 Nce7 16. Nxf5 Nxf5 17. g3 b6 18. Bf3
Bb7 19. Qe2 Qd7 20. O-O-O O-O-O 21. Kb1 Ba6 {Black has a completely fine
position. But here Sandipan comes up with a completely creative and unusual
solution.} 22. c4 $5 {I am really unsure about the evaluation of this move.
With precise play Black can hold the advantage. However, if by making all the
correct moves Black is only slightly better, I would say Sandipan's move is an
excellent practical choice.} Bc7 $2 {Now Chanda takes over.} (22... dxc4 $2 23.
Nc5 $1 bxc5 24. dxc5 $16 {White is already better.}) (22... Bxc4 $1 {was the
real test of White's idea.} 23. Rc1 Kb8 24. Rxc4 {This has to be played or
else White is just a pawn down.} dxc4 25. Qe4 {Kobalia must have reached this
position and thought that the position is just too dangerous. He had to find
the only move here that would have given him an advantage.} Rc8 $1 {vacating
the d8 square for the king.} 26. Nb4 $5 (26. Rc1 Kc7 27. Rxc4+ Kd8 $17 {
Black can be confident about his position here.}) 26... Bxb4 27. Qa8+ Kc7 28.
Qxa7+ Kd8 29. Qxb6+ Ke8 30. Qxb4 Ne7 $1 $17 {The knight shifts to d5 and
overall I think Black should be better here as well. We could conclude that c4
wasn't the best move objectively.}) 23. Rc1 Nd6 (23... Bxc4 $5 {Had to be
tried. But now it is not so clear.} 24. Rxc4 dxc4 25. Nb4 $44) 24. b3 $1 (24.
c5 $1 {was also very strong.}) 24... dxc4 25. Nb4 Bb7 26. Bxb7+ Nxb7 27. Rxc4
$18 {And White has emerged with a completely winning position!} b5 28. Rc2 Rh7
29. Rhc1 Qd6 30. Qxb5 Qb6 31. Qxb6 axb6 32. Na6 $18 {A very interesting battle!
} 1-0
Player overview for IND
| SNo | Name | Rtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pts. | Rk. | Rp | Group | |
| 63 | FM | Nihal Sarin | 2386 | IND | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 5,5 | 25 | 2539 | Open B |
| 67 | IM | Abhishek Kelkar | 2381 | IND | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 6,5 | 4 | 2611 | Open B |
| 82 | Navalgund Niranjan | 2327 | IND | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 4,0 | 81 | 2224 | Open B | |
| 84 | IM | Kathmale Sameer | 2323 | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 3,5 | 91 | 2146 | Open B |
| 116 | WFM | Pujari Rucha | 2127 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 3,5 | 88 | 2323 | Open B |
| 48 | WFM | Pujari Rucha | 2127 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 4,5 | 50 | 2123 | Open C |
| 55 | Godbole Atharva | 2100 | IND | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 6,0 | 21 | 2229 | Open C | |
| 67 | WFM | Divya Deshmukh | 2005 | IND | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4,5 | 56 | 2030 | Open C |
| 72 | Vatsal Singhania | 1954 | IND | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5,0 | 46 | 2051 | Open C | |
| 82 | Rakshitta Ravi | 1847 | IND | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 4,5 | 64 | 1973 | Open C | |
| 8 | GM | Adhiban B. | 2682 | IND | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 4,0 | 68 | 2502 | Open A |
| 10 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | 2674 | IND | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5,0 | 36 | 2623 | Open A |
| 12 | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | 2673 | IND | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5,5 | 20 | 2641 | Open A |
| 25 | GM | Gupta Abhijeet | 2645 | IND | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5,5 | 21 | 2629 | Open A |
| 36 | GM | Sethuraman S.P. | 2623 | IND | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4,0 | 67 | 2522 | Open A |
| 47 | GM | Lalith Babu M R | 2584 | IND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 3,0 | 92 | 2402 | Open A |
| 50 | GM | Karthikeyan Murali | 2578 | IND | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4,5 | 44 | 2592 | Open A |
| 54 | GM | Sandipan Chanda | 2573 | IND | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4,5 | 46 | 2586 | Open A |
| 72 | GM | Swapnil S. Dhopade | 2534 | IND | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 4,5 | 51 | 2558 | Open A |
| 77 | GM | Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan | 2524 | IND | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5,5 | 13 | 2732 | Open A |
| 87 | IM | Puranik Abhimanyu | 2481 | IND | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 4,0 | 66 | 2506 | Open A |
| 88 | IM | Narayanan Srinath | 2474 | IND | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4,5 | 57 | 2634 | Open A |
| 89 | GM | Debashis Das | 2472 | IND | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5,0 | 33 | 2649 | Open A |
| 92 | IM | Praggnanandhaa R | 2455 | IND | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 2,5 | 94 | 2383 | Open A |
| 95 | Gusain Himal | 2438 | IND | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3,0 | 91 | 2403 | Open A | |
| 98 | IM | Karavade Eesha | 2418 | IND | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 3,0 | 87 | 2429 | Open A |
Final Ranking after 9 Rounds
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | Rp | |
| 1 | 18 | GM | Fedoseev Vladimir | RUS | 2658 | 7,0 | 5 | 2604 | 2823 |
| 2 | 17 | GM | Najer Evgeniy | RUS | 2659 | 6,5 | 4 | 2660 | 2823 |
| 3 | 41 | GM | Kovalev Vladislav | BLR | 2598 | 6,5 | 4 | 2638 | 2791 |
| 4 | 2 | GM | Vitiugov Nikita | RUS | 2724 | 6,5 | 4 | 2626 | 2797 |
| 5 | 4 | GM | Jobava Baadur | GEO | 2701 | 6,0 | 5 | 2619 | 2746 |
| 6 | 14 | GM | Kamsky Gata | USA | 2669 | 6,0 | 5 | 2592 | 2716 |
| 7 | 6 | GM | Korobov Anton | UKR | 2691 | 6,0 | 5 | 2583 | 2700 |
| 8 | 3 | GM | Inarkiev Ernesto | RUS | 2723 | 6,0 | 4 | 2636 | 2764 |
| 9 | 91 | IM | Firouzja Alireza | IRI | 2465 | 6,0 | 4 | 2625 | 2746 |
| 10 | 1 | GM | Yu Yangyi | CHN | 2738 | 6,0 | 4 | 2615 | 2735 |
| 11 | 19 | GM | Artemiev Vladislav | RUS | 2655 | 6,0 | 4 | 2609 | 2740 |
| 12 | 16 | GM | Dubov Daniil | RUS | 2661 | 5,5 | 5 | 2568 | 2646 |
| 13 | 77 | GM | Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan | IND | 2524 | 5,5 | 4 | 2647 | 2732 |
| 14 | 5 | GM | Matlakov Maxim | RUS | 2701 | 5,5 | 4 | 2640 | 2716 |
| 15 | 21 | GM | Iturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo | VEN | 2652 | 5,5 | 4 | 2631 | 2707 |
Read more about the top finishers in our ChessBase International report
Mid-way report on the Aeroflot Open 2017 on ChessBase India
All articles on Aeroflot Open 2017 on ChessBase.com