HD Bank 2016: Diptayan pulls it through

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 14/03/2016

A decade or two back, Vietnam was more of a war than a nation, but not anymore -- today, they are among the fastest growing economies in Asia. The country hosted the 6th HD Bank Cup 2016 this month. Fifteen grandmasters and twenty-nine International Masters led a field of seventy-one players and five Indians were among them. An illustrated report with choice tactics and grandmaster analysis!

HD Bank 2016: Diptayan pulls it through

Breathtaking seascape with rook-like limestone rocks, exotic and subtly flavoured food with a tinge of Chinese taste mixed with herbs, an enchanting history of war and rise; Vietnam is a country that will leave you content and happy. A decade or two back, Vietnam was more of a war than a nation, but not anymore -- today, they are among the fastest growing economies in Asia.

The 6th HD Bank Cup International Open 2016 was held from 08-13 March 2016 at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The tournament was a nine-round swiss with only seventy-one players, fifty-nine of whom were titled! Fifteen grandmasters and twenty-nine International Masters led the field and five Indians were among them.

The playing arena

The top seed Wang Hao (2717) of China demolished the field to score 8.0/9.

West Bengal's Diptayan Ghosh (2552) -- India's highest rated International Master finished seventh with 6.0/9.

Seventeen-year-old Diptayan Ghosh was widely accepted in the Indian chess circuit to be of grandmaster strength, but it is one thing to be equivalent to something, another to actually be that thing. His rating had soared across the 2500 mark quite a while back and at 2552 he was India's strongest International Master; what he lacked was that one final norm that would make him a grandmaster.

Diptayan had a calm start with 1.5/2 and in the third round was pitted against compatriot IM Ramnath Bhuvanesh.

All roads lead to Rome, but one is absolutely crushing -- white to play.

In the fourth round, he held GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (2649) to a draw.

Retrospectively, the fifth round game was an encouraging push for Diptayan and made things simpler for him.

IM Diptayan Ghosh (2552) - GM Nguyen Anh Dung (2478)

Analysis by Diptayan

Things looked rosy at this point as Diptayan stood on 4.0/5. He took a calculated and risk-free approach in the remaining games, drawing all of them.

GM Vasif Durarbeyli (2600) - IM Diptayan Ghosh (2552)

Analysis by Diptayan

Grandmaster!

The young lad doesn't even remember precisely how many times he has missed it in the past, but he can rest assured now that the monkey is off his back -- Diptayan Ghosh registered his final norm to become India's 43rd grandmaster.

GM Swapnil Dhopade (2500) of Maharashtra played on par to finish thirteenth with 5.5/9, including a last round draw with Diptayan that helped the latter complete the norm.

Bengal's IM Sayantan Das (2443) finished with 5.0/9 thanks to two losses in a row to Chinese GMs Zhao Jun (2613) and Ni Hua (2691).

Actually, he was doing decently until the seventh round:

He earned this cute win with white against Azeri GM Durarbayli (2600). Sayantan is white and found a neat way to obtain a winning advantage.

IM Praveen Kumar C (2240) scored fifty-percent, ending with 4.5/9

Praveen found a straightforward resource with white against Vietnamese GM Cao Sang (2430). He is already an exchange ahead, but now finishes things with...?

IM Ramnath Bhuvanesh (2392) struggled to reach 3.5/9, losing a hatful of elo in the process.

The royal game.

Glitz: trophies and medals apart from cash prizes to the winners!

Final Standings:

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	n	w	we	w-we	K	rtg+/-
1	1	GM	Wang Hao		CHN	2717	8,0	0,0	53,5	7,0	9	8	6,49	1,51	10	15,1
2	6	GM	Zhao Jun		CHN	2613	7,5	0,0	52,0	6,0	9	7,5	5,42	2,08	10	20,8
3	3	GM	Laznicka Viktor		CZE	2666	7,0	0,0	53,0	6,0	9	7	6,33	0,67	10	6,7
4	9	IM	Bogdanovich Stanislav		UKR	2590	6,5	0,0	48,0	5,0	9	6,5	6,11	0,39	10	3,9
5	4	GM	Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son		VIE	2649	6,0	0,0	53,5	4,0	9	6	6,21	-0,21	10	-2,1
6	5	GM	Zhang Zhong		SIN	2633	6,0	0,0	51,5	5,0	9	6	5,93	0,07	10	0,7
7	11	IM	Ghosh Diptayan		IND	2552	6,0	0,0	48,5	3,0	9	6	5,07	0,93	10	9,3
8	7	GM	Durarbayli Vasif		AZE	2600	6,0	0,0	48,0	4,0	8	5	5,34	-0,34	10	-3,4
9	23	IM	Tin Jingyao		SIN	2411	6,0	0,0	46,0	5,0	9	6	4,38	1,62	10	16,2
10	15	IM	Tran Tuan Minh		VIE	2459	6,0	0,0	44,5	5,0	9	6	4,77	1,23	10	12,3
11	2	GM	Ni Hua		CHN	2691	6,0	0,0	41,5	4,0	9	6	7,77	-1,77	10	-17,7
12	16	IM	Le Tuan Minh		VIE	2444	5,5	0,0	48,5	4,0	9	5,5	4,47	1,03	10	10,3
13	12	GM	Swapnil S. Dhopade		IND	2500	5,5	0,0	46,5	4,0	9	5,5	5,61	-0,11	10	-1,1
14	14	GM	Nguyen Anh Dung		VIE	2478	5,5	0,0	45,5	5,0	9	5,5	5,15	0,35	10	3,5
15	22	FM	Nguyen Anh Khoi		VIE	2412	5,5	0,0	45,0	4,0	9	5,5	4,30	1,20	10	12,0

Check the complete standings here.

Photos: HD Bank 2016 Facebook page

Related news:

	Travel to Vietnam this March for the 9th HDBank 2019 @ 12/02/2019 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	HD Bank 2017: Le Quang Liem wins; Vishnu best among Indians @ 19/03/2017 by Priyadarshan Banjan (en)