Men's Premier 06: Sethu and Neelotpal scammed

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 21/11/2015

There were three wins and four draws in the sixth round, but let these results not fool you! Sethu invested a humongous amount of time in the early middlegame, only to gift Rathna the point in a platter. P. Karthikeyan won against Praneeth while Kunte allowed Venkatesh his first victory in this tournament. Neelotpal had a better position against Deep Sengupta -- so much better that he was sedated into a textbook draw.

Men's Premier 06: Sethu and Neelotpal scammed

The venue and host of the tourney: Hotel Kasi's Inn, Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu

IM Rathnakaran did what he usually does: whip up complications

The game yet again began as a Vaganian Gambit. One would expect it to turn into a preparatory slugfest in the path laid down by Vidit and Swapnil in their victory over Rathna in the same opening.

Not quite -- Rathna deviated and did not bother to question his opponent in the same line that had vanquished him earlier. He, as you would expect, launched his pieces towards the white king and sacrificed another pawn. To his delight, he was allowed to hit a rook into White's camp, forcing Sethu to look up in dismay and resign.

[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.20"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Sethuraman S.P."]
[Black "Rathnakaran K."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A56"]
[WhiteElo "2651"]
[BlackElo "2447"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:25:27"]
[BlackClock "1:04:21"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d5 6. cxd5 Bc5 7. N5c3 O-O 8.
g3 Qb6 9. e3 Bg4 10. Be2 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 e4 12. Nd2 Re8 13. a3 Nbd7 14. b4 Bf8 15. Bb2 a6 16. O-O Qc7 17. Rad1 Qe5 18. Kg2 Rac8 19. Nc4 Qf5 20. Na5 Ne5
21. Ba1 Nf3 22. Nxe4 Nh4+ 23. gxh4 Rxe4 24. Bxf6 $4 (24. f3 $1 {nullifies the
threats.} Rxh4 25. Bxf6 Qxf6 26. Nxb7 Qb6 27. Nc5 a5 28. e4 $14 {Although, one
has to admit rathnakaran likes such positions.}) (24. Rd4 Rxd4 25. Bxd4 $11)
24... Rc2 {losing the queen.} 0-1

GM Sethuraman is having a torrid time, in the context of the burden of expectations he is carrying. A crucial pattern worth noting in the tournament so far: he is investing bucketloads of time on the clock in the early middlegame phase.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Sethu is an exceptional talent, who has already blazed a trail, and is years away from peaking. However, while reaching the halfway mark, this tournament is slowly beginning to turn into a nightmare for him. Will the Rest Day do Sethu any good? Time will tell.

The position after 24...Rc2! (Note the clock)

IM Arghyadip Das vs. IM Shyaamnikhil P.

A Bishop's Opening, where Arghyadip won a pawn early in return for the Bishop pair, but with nothing concrete to make progress with.

[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.20"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Das Arghyadip"]
[Black "Shyaamnikhil P"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "2456"]
[BlackElo "2436"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:06:25"]
[BlackClock "0:08:42"]

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. c3 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8.
Re1 Nb6 9. Bb5 Bd6 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Nxe5 Re8 12. d4 f6 13. Nf3 Rxe1+ 14. Qxe1
Bg4 15. Nbd2 Qd7 16. Qf1 Re8 17. c4 Bb4 18. h3 Bh5 19. Qd3 Bf7 20. a3 Bxd2 21.
Bxd2 Nxc4 22. Bc3 Qd5 23. Nd2 Nd6 24. Qf3 Qg5 25. Qg4 Qd5 26. Qf3 1/2-1/2

The latest grandmaster from Maharashtra drew with...

...the state's strongest player ever, who as you can see, is busy recalling his work

[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.20"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Swapnil S. Dhopade"]
[Black "Vidit Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D96"]
[WhiteElo "2497"]
[BlackElo "2651"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:24:02"]
[BlackClock "0:53:01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d5 5. Qb3 c5 6. cxd5 O-O 7. e3 cxd4 8.
Nxd4 b6 9. Bc4 Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Rd1 Nc5 12. Qc2 Rc8 13. Nc6 Bxc6 14. dxc6
Qe8 15. b3 Qxc6 16. Bb2 Nce4 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Rd4 Nd6 20. Qd2
Nxc4 21. Rxc4 Qf6 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Rc1 Rxc1+ 24. Qxc1 h5 25. g3 h4 1/2-1/2

GM Neelotpal Das vs. GM Deep Sengupta

Neelotpal had a clear edge throughout the game until he was royally scammed into a textbook draw, despite being a piece up!

Before you get a whiff of the position that cunningly sedated Neelotpal with the aroma of sweet material advantage, have a go at this famous study:

Greco, 1623

Black to play

[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.20"]
[Round "6.7"]
[White "Neelotpal Das"]
[Black "Sengupta Deep"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E14"]
[WhiteElo "2475"]
[BlackElo "2589"]
[PlyCount "139"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 c5 6. O-O Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. d5
exd5 9. cxd5 d6 10. e4 Nbd7 11. h3 a6 12. a4 Ne8 13. Bf4 Bf6 14. Nd2 Ne5 15.
Be2 Ng6 16. Bh2 Be5 17. Nc4 Bxh2+ 18. Kxh2 Rb8 19. f4 Nf6 20. Bd3 Ba8 21. Na3
Bb7 22. Qf3 Nd7 23. Rae1 Kh8 24. g4 Bc8 25. Qg3 Bb7 26. Nc4 Nf6 27. g5 Nh5 28.
Qg4 Nhxf4 29. Rxf4 b5 30. axb5 axb5 31. Ne3 c4 32. Bf1 Bc8 33. Nf5 Nxf4 34.
Qxf4 Bxf5 35. exf5 b4 36. Ne4 c3 37. f6 g6 38. bxc3 bxc3 39. Nxc3 Qa5 40. Re3
Qc5 41. Bg2 Rb3 42. Nd1 Rb4 43. Qg3 h5 44. gxh6 Rb1 45. Nc3 Rb3 46. h7 Qd4 47.
Rf3 Ra8 48. Ne2 Rxf3 49. Nxd4 Rxg3 50. Kxg3 Ra3+ 51. Bf3 Kxh7 52. Nb5 Ra6 53.
Bg4 Kh6 54. Bd7 Kg5 55. Bc6 Kxf6 56. Nxd6 Ra3+ 57. Kg4 Rd3 58. Nb7 Ke5 59. d6
Rxd6 60. Nxd6 Kxd6 61. Ba4 f6 62. Be8 Ke7 63. Bxg6 Kf8 64. Kf5 Kg7 65. h4 Kh8
66. Kxf6 Kg8 67. h5 Kh8 68. h6 Kg8 69. h7+ Kh8 70. Kf7 1/2-1/2

GM M. Karthikeyan had a fighting draw with...

GM Shyam Sundar M., who has been struggling health-wise

[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.20"]
[Round "6.6"]
[White "Karthikeyan Murali"]
[Black "Shyam Sundar M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C81"]
[WhiteElo "2498"]
[BlackElo "2481"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:26:01"]
[BlackClock "0:34:57"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5
Be6 9. Qe2 {Rare. 9.Nbd2 is a favourite here.} Be7 10. Rd1 O-O 11. c4 bxc4 12.
Bxc4 Qd7 13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Rfb8 15. Bb3 Na5 16. Bc2 c5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Ng5
Bxg5 19. Bxg5 Bf5 20. Qe2 Bxc2 21. Qxc2 Nc4 22. Bf6 Qe6 23. Re1 h6 24. Rad1 Kh7
25. Qc1 Qf5 26. Rxd5 Rb2 27. Rf1 Rab8 28. Qe1 (28. Qd1 Rb1 $19) 28... Rxa2 $2
29. Qd1 Rab2 30. Qd3 Qxd3 31. Rxd3 a5 32. Rd7 R2b7 33. e6 Kg8 34. exf7+ Kf8 35.
Be7+ Kxf7 36. Rxb7 Rxb7 37. Bxc5 Rb3 38. f4 Rxc3 39. Ra1 Ke6 40. g4 Rf3 41. Rf1
Rxf1+ 42. Kxf1 Kd5 43. Bf8 Ne3+ 44. Ke2 Nxg4 45. h3 Nf6 46. Bxh6 Ke4 47. Kd2
Nd5 48. Kc2 Nxf4 49. Kb3 Nxh3 50. Ka4 Nf2 51. Kxa5 Ng4 52. Bg5 Kf5 53. Bd2 Ke4
54. Bg5 Kf5 55. Bd2 Nf6 56. Kb4 Nd5+ 57. Kc4 Nf4 58. Kd4 g5 59. Ke3 g4 60. Kf2
g3+ 1/2-1/2

IM P. Karthikeyan vs. FM Praneeth Surya

Praneeth held his Najdorf together and managed to create some play, however, he was already losing the thread towards the late middlegame. In the end, his pawns proved too weak to be alive and all Karthikeyan had to calculate was a pawn race, which he was winning.

[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.20"]
[Round "6.5"]
[White "Karthikeyan P."]
[Black "K. Praneeth Surya"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B94"]
[WhiteElo "2441"]
[BlackElo "2413"]
[PlyCount "137"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:04"]
[BlackClock "0:00:42"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 (6... e6 {
remains the overwhelming favourite in this opening.}) 7. Qe2 h6 8. Bh4 g6 9. f4
e5 10. fxe5 dxe5 11. O-O-O Qc7 $14 12. Nb3 b5 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 Bd6 15. Qd2
Kf8 16. g4 a5 $1 {The first new move. Also, a good idea.} 17. Kb1 a4 18. Nc1 a3
(18... b4 19. Bb5 a3 20. Bc6 Ra5 21. b3 Nb8 22. Qg2 $11) 19. b3 Nc5 20. Bd3
Bxg4 21. Bf6 Rh7 (21... Bxd1 22. Bxh8 Kg8 23. Rxd1 Nxd3 24. Nxd3 Kxh8 25. Qxh6+
Kg8 $17) 22. Rde1 Rc8 $2 (22... Nd7 23. Bh4 b4 $15) 23. Rhf1 Kg8 24. Bxb5 Rb8
25. c4 Bd7 26. Bxd7 Nxd7 27. Qc2 Nxf6 28. Rxf6 Qe7 29. Qf2 Kg7 30. Rf1 Kg8 31.
Nd3 e4 32. c5 exd3 33. cxd6 Qe4 34. Rf4 Qxd5 35. Rd4 Qf5 36. Qxf5 gxf5 37. Rxd3
Rd8 38. Rxf5 Rg7 39. Rf2 Rc8 40. Rg3 Rxg3 41. hxg3 Rd8 42. Rd2 f5 43. Kc2 Kf7
44. b4 Ke6 45. Rh2 Kxd6 46. Rxh6+ Ke5 47. Rg6 Kd4 48. Kb3 Rc8 49. Kxa3 Kc4 50.
Ra6 Rg8 51. Rc6+ Kd4 52. b5 Rxg3+ 53. Kb4 f4 54. Rc4+ Ke5 55. b6 Rg1 56. Kc5
Rb1 57. Rc3 Ke4 58. Rb3 Rc1+ 59. Kd6 f3 60. Rb2 Rd1+ 61. Kc7 Rc1+ 62. Kd7 Rd1+
63. Ke7 Ke3 64. b7 f2 65. b8=Q f1=Q {Usually, in such positions, the side with
the first check wins.} 66. Qe5+ Kf3 67. Rb3+ Kg2 68. Rg3+ Kh1 69. Qh5+ 1-0

GM Abhijit Kunte was not a happy man, as you can possibly deduce from this picture

GM M.R. Venkatesh registered his first win in the tournament with an idea worth remembering

[Event "NP2015"]
[Site "Trivarur"]
[Date "2015.11.20"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Venkatesh M.R."]
[Black "Kunte Abhijit"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C44"]
[WhiteElo "2464"]
[BlackElo "2515"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:07:49"]
[BlackClock "0:39:37"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Qe2 (6. e5 {is the
more famous alternative here.}) 6... d6 7. Nc3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. O-O-O Ng4 10.
Bd2 f5 $2 (10... d5 $11) 11. h3 {For the next few moves, White gets some
free-hits.} Ne5 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. f4 Ng6 14. g4 Bd7 15. f5 Ne5 16. Ne4 d5 17.
Bc3 Nc4 18. h4 Rb8 19. Qf2 Nb6 20. Qd4 Rf7 21. Ng5 Bxg5+ 22. hxg5 Qxg5+ 23. Bd2
Qf6 24. Be3 Na4 25. g5 Qxd4 26. Rxd4 Nxb2 27. g6 Rxf5 28. gxh7+ Kh8 29. Rdh4 c5
(29... Re5 30. Bd4 Re1+ 31. Kd2 Rd1+ 32. Ke2 Re8+ 33. Kf2 c5 34. Bxg7+ Kxg7 35.
h8=Q+ Rxh8 36. Rxh8 Bf5 $11 {The main difference between this position and the
one which arose in the game is simply that Black has managed to donate two
pawns.}) 30. Bxc5 Na4 31. Bxa7 Ra8 32. Bd4 c5 33. Bxg7+ Kxg7 34. h8=Q+ Rxh8 35.
Rg1+ Kf6 36. Rxh8 $18 Nc3 37. Bd3 Ne4 38. Bxe4 dxe4 39. Rf8+ Ke5 40. Rxf5+ Bxf5
41. Kd2 Kd4 42. Rg3 Bd7 43. Ra3 Bc6 44. c3+ Kc4 45. Ra5 Bb7 46. a4 Bc6 47. Ra6
Be8 48. a5 Kb5 49. Re6 Bd7 50. Re7 Bc8 51. Ke3 Kxa5 52. Rc7 Ba6 53. Rxc5+ Kb6
54. Re5 Bd3 55. Kd4 1-0

Round 6 Pairings:

Ranking Crosstable:

NOTE: Today is a rest day

Watch the games live here.