Zalakaros 06-09: Abhimanyu Puranik and Hemant Sharma shine
The 36th Zalakaros Open had concluded last week. In the second half, GM Shyam Sundar and GM Abhijeet Gupta couldn't muster up points against their opponents. The tournament ended with Ukraine's Alexander Zubov taking the first place. India's Hemant Sharma completed his IM title rating requirements. Illustrated report.
Zalakaros 06-09: Abhimanyu Puranik and Hemant Sharma shine
All photos by Gyula Feher
In the early rounds, the tournament saw many upsets. IM Abhimanyu Puranik caused major upset to GM Richard Rapport by defeating him in 38 moves. You can replay the game here.
Hopes for top place finish faltered as in the last three rounds, it proved difficult for Indians to muster points.
GM Abhijeet Gupta was paired against R. Praggnanandhaa in the sixth round.
[Event "36th Zalakaros Festival 2017"]
[Site "Zalakaros"]
[Date "2017.05.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa R"]
[Black "Gupta, Abhijeet"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B56"]
[WhiteElo "2471"]
[BlackElo "2626"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "148"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[Site "Zalakaros"]
[Date "2017.05.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa R"]
[Black "Gupta, Abhijeet"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B56"]
[WhiteElo "2471"]
[BlackElo "2626"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "148"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nb3 Nc6 7. Be2 {B56:
Classical Sicilian: Unusual Lines} (7. Be3 e6 8. g4 h6 9. h4 b5 10. Bg2 Ne5 11.
g5 Nfd7 12. f4 Nc4 13. Qe2 Nxb2 14. e5 Rb8 {1-0 (39) Vitiugov,N (2724)
-Artemiev,V (2655) Moscow 2017}) 7... e6 8. g4 b5 9. a3 {The position is equal.
} Bb7 10. g5 Nd7 11. Be3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 11. Rg1 Nb6 12. Be3 g6 13. Rg3
Bg7 14. Qd2 Na4 15. Nxa4 bxa4 {0-1 (37) Forsberg,V (2379) -Arman,D (2323)
Uppsala 2016}) 11... Be7 12. Qd2 O-O 13. f4 Re8 14. h4 Na5 15. Nxa5 Qxa5 16.
O-O Bf8 17. Bf3 Rac8 18. Bd4 Qc7 (18... Nb6 $5) 19. Qf2 Nc5 20. Rad1 Bc6 21. f5
({Better is} 21. b4 $14 Nd7 22. Bg4) 21... exf5 $11 22. Bxc5 (22. exf5 $11 Ne4
23. Nxe4 Bxe4 24. f6) 22... dxc5 $15 23. exf5 c4 24. Bxc6 Qxc6 25. Qg2 (25. Qf3
$15) 25... Qc5+ $17 26. Kh1 Re5 (26... Rcd8 $1 $17 27. Nd5 Rd6) 27. Ne4 Qc6 28.
Rd4 Qb6 29. c3 Rd8 30. Rfd1 Rxd4 31. Rxd4 Rxf5 32. Nf6+ $1 Rxf6 33. gxf6 Qxf6
$11 {Endgame KQR-KQB} 34. Qg5 Qf1+ 35. Kh2 g6 36. Qg2 Qf5 37. Qe4 Qf2+ 38. Qg2
Qe3 {White should prevent ...Bc5.} 39. Qg5 Qe1 40. Qg3 Qe8 {Threatening ...Bg7.
} 41. Qg5 h6 42. Qd2 (42. Qg2 $11 {keeps the balance.}) 42... Qe5+ $17 43. Kh3
Bc5 44. Rd8+ (44. Rd5 $17 {keeps fighting.} Qe6+ 45. Kg3) 44... Kg7 $19 {
Hoping for ...h5.} 45. Qd5 $2 (45. Rd5 Qe6+ 46. Kg3) 45... Qe3+ 46. Kg2 {
and the idea Qf3 leaves White hopeful.} Qf2+ (46... Qe2+ $142 47. Kh3 h5) 47.
Kh3 {Black must now prevent Qe5+.} Qf1+ ({Black should try} 47... Qf6 $1 $19 {
And now ...h5 would win.} 48. Ra8 h5 49. Qxc5 Qf3+ 50. Kh2 Qxa8 51. Qd4+ Kg8)
48. Qg2 $17 Qf5+ (48... Qf6 $17 49. Rd1 h5) 49. Qg4 $1 $15 {Strongly
threatening Qxf5.} Qf6 50. Rd5 {[#]} h5 $1 51. Qe2 $1 (51. Rxh5 Qf1+) 51... Bd6
{aiming for ...Qf4.} (51... Bf2 $5 52. Qe5 Bxh4 $15) 52. Kg2 (52. Rd4 $1 $15)
52... Bf4 ({Black should play} 52... Qf4 $17 53. Qf3 Qh2+ 54. Kf1 Be7) 53. Kh3
$2 (53. Qe1 $11) 53... Qc6 $36 {Black is in control.} 54. Qf3 {[#]} (54. Rd1
$17) 54... Qe6+ (54... Bc1 $1 $19 {is more deadly.} 55. a4 Bxb2 56. axb5 axb5)
55. Kg2 $17 {[#]} Bc1 $1 56. Rd8 $2 (56. a4 $17 {is more resistant.}) 56...
Bxb2 $19 57. Rd2 Bxa3 58. Re2 Qd7 59. Rf2 Bc5 60. Qf6+ (60. Ra2 $142) 60... Kg8
61. Ra2 Qg4+ 62. Kh2 Qg1+ (62... Bg1+ $142 63. Kh1 Be3) 63. Kh3 Qe3+ 64. Kh2
Qg1+ 65. Kh3 Qg4+ (65... b4 $142 66. Qf3 b3) 66. Kh2 Bg1+ 67. Kh1 Be3 68. Rg2
Qe4 69. Kh2 a5 (69... Bf4+ $142 70. Kh1 Qe1+ 71. Rg1 Qd2 72. Rxg6+ fxg6 73.
Qxg6+ Kf8 74. Qf6+ Ke8 75. Qe6+ Kd8 76. Qb6+ Kd7 77. Qb7+ Bc7) 70. Kh3 a4 71.
Qd8+ Kg7 72. Qd7 Qd3 {Black mates.} 73. Qxd3 cxd3 74. Ra2 Bc1 {Precision:
White = 35%, Black = 48%.} 0-1
Classical Sicilian: Unusual Lines} (7. Be3 e6 8. g4 h6 9. h4 b5 10. Bg2 Ne5 11.
g5 Nfd7 12. f4 Nc4 13. Qe2 Nxb2 14. e5 Rb8 {1-0 (39) Vitiugov,N (2724)
-Artemiev,V (2655) Moscow 2017}) 7... e6 8. g4 b5 9. a3 {The position is equal.
} Bb7 10. g5 Nd7 11. Be3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 11. Rg1 Nb6 12. Be3 g6 13. Rg3
Bg7 14. Qd2 Na4 15. Nxa4 bxa4 {0-1 (37) Forsberg,V (2379) -Arman,D (2323)
Uppsala 2016}) 11... Be7 12. Qd2 O-O 13. f4 Re8 14. h4 Na5 15. Nxa5 Qxa5 16.
O-O Bf8 17. Bf3 Rac8 18. Bd4 Qc7 (18... Nb6 $5) 19. Qf2 Nc5 20. Rad1 Bc6 21. f5
({Better is} 21. b4 $14 Nd7 22. Bg4) 21... exf5 $11 22. Bxc5 (22. exf5 $11 Ne4
23. Nxe4 Bxe4 24. f6) 22... dxc5 $15 23. exf5 c4 24. Bxc6 Qxc6 25. Qg2 (25. Qf3
$15) 25... Qc5+ $17 26. Kh1 Re5 (26... Rcd8 $1 $17 27. Nd5 Rd6) 27. Ne4 Qc6 28.
Rd4 Qb6 29. c3 Rd8 30. Rfd1 Rxd4 31. Rxd4 Rxf5 32. Nf6+ $1 Rxf6 33. gxf6 Qxf6
$11 {Endgame KQR-KQB} 34. Qg5 Qf1+ 35. Kh2 g6 36. Qg2 Qf5 37. Qe4 Qf2+ 38. Qg2
Qe3 {White should prevent ...Bc5.} 39. Qg5 Qe1 40. Qg3 Qe8 {Threatening ...Bg7.
} 41. Qg5 h6 42. Qd2 (42. Qg2 $11 {keeps the balance.}) 42... Qe5+ $17 43. Kh3
Bc5 44. Rd8+ (44. Rd5 $17 {keeps fighting.} Qe6+ 45. Kg3) 44... Kg7 $19 {
Hoping for ...h5.} 45. Qd5 $2 (45. Rd5 Qe6+ 46. Kg3) 45... Qe3+ 46. Kg2 {
and the idea Qf3 leaves White hopeful.} Qf2+ (46... Qe2+ $142 47. Kh3 h5) 47.
Kh3 {Black must now prevent Qe5+.} Qf1+ ({Black should try} 47... Qf6 $1 $19 {
And now ...h5 would win.} 48. Ra8 h5 49. Qxc5 Qf3+ 50. Kh2 Qxa8 51. Qd4+ Kg8)
48. Qg2 $17 Qf5+ (48... Qf6 $17 49. Rd1 h5) 49. Qg4 $1 $15 {Strongly
threatening Qxf5.} Qf6 50. Rd5 {[#]} h5 $1 51. Qe2 $1 (51. Rxh5 Qf1+) 51... Bd6
{aiming for ...Qf4.} (51... Bf2 $5 52. Qe5 Bxh4 $15) 52. Kg2 (52. Rd4 $1 $15)
52... Bf4 ({Black should play} 52... Qf4 $17 53. Qf3 Qh2+ 54. Kf1 Be7) 53. Kh3
$2 (53. Qe1 $11) 53... Qc6 $36 {Black is in control.} 54. Qf3 {[#]} (54. Rd1
$17) 54... Qe6+ (54... Bc1 $1 $19 {is more deadly.} 55. a4 Bxb2 56. axb5 axb5)
55. Kg2 $17 {[#]} Bc1 $1 56. Rd8 $2 (56. a4 $17 {is more resistant.}) 56...
Bxb2 $19 57. Rd2 Bxa3 58. Re2 Qd7 59. Rf2 Bc5 60. Qf6+ (60. Ra2 $142) 60... Kg8
61. Ra2 Qg4+ 62. Kh2 Qg1+ (62... Bg1+ $142 63. Kh1 Be3) 63. Kh3 Qe3+ 64. Kh2
Qg1+ 65. Kh3 Qg4+ (65... b4 $142 66. Qf3 b3) 66. Kh2 Bg1+ 67. Kh1 Be3 68. Rg2
Qe4 69. Kh2 a5 (69... Bf4+ $142 70. Kh1 Qe1+ 71. Rg1 Qd2 72. Rxg6+ fxg6 73.
Qxg6+ Kf8 74. Qf6+ Ke8 75. Qe6+ Kd8 76. Qb6+ Kd7 77. Qb7+ Bc7) 70. Kh3 a4 71.
Qd8+ Kg7 72. Qd7 Qd3 {Black mates.} 73. Qxd3 cxd3 74. Ra2 Bc1 {Precision:
White = 35%, Black = 48%.} 0-1
Zalakaros has become a GM Norms hunting ground for IM Abhimanyu Puranik. He secured his 2nd GM norm with a score of 5.5/9.
[Event "36th Zalakaros Festival 2017"]
[Site "Zalakaros"]
[Date "2017.05.26"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Puranik, Abhimanyu"]
[Black "Hemant, Sharma"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2459"]
[BlackElo "2380"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[Site "Zalakaros"]
[Date "2017.05.26"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Puranik, Abhimanyu"]
[Black "Hemant, Sharma"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2459"]
[BlackElo "2380"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. dxc5 Qa5 5. Bd2 Qxc5 6. Nd5 {[#] And now Bb4
would win.} Na6 {B06: Modern Defence} 7. Be3 (7. Nf3 e6 8. Bc3 Kf8 9. Bxg7+
Kxg7 10. Nc3 Nf6 11. Qd4 Qxd4 12. Nxd4 Nc7 13. e5 Ng4 14. f4 f6 15. Nf3 fxe5
16. fxe5 {1-0 (46) Solodovnichenko,Y (2584)-Guseinov,G (2614) Dubai 2015}) 7...
Qa5+ 8. c3 Nf6 {White is slightly better.} 9. Bd4 O-O 10. Nxe7+ Kh8 11. Qf3 Nh5
$146 {Threatens to win with ...Bxd4.} ({Predecessor:} 11... Ne8 12. Ne2 Nec7
13. h4 Ne6 14. Bxg7+ Kxg7 15. O-O-O Qxa2 16. h5 Qa1+ 17. Kc2 Qa4+ 18. Kd2 Re8
19. hxg6 Ng5 20. Rxh7+ {1-0 (20) Bakr Jwan,J (2330)-Salepci,O (2117) Izmir 2007
}) 12. Bxg7+ Nxg7 13. Bxa6 bxa6 14. Nxc8 Rfxc8 15. Ne2 Rab8 16. b4 ({Resist}
16. Qxf7 $6 Rxb2 17. Rd1 Rd8 $14) 16... Qe5 17. O-O Rc4 18. Qxf7 Qxe4 19. Rfe1
Qe6 20. Qxe6 Nxe6 21. Rad1 Rb7 (21... a5 $16 22. Rxd7 (22. bxa5 Nc5 $16) 22...
axb4) 22. Rd5 $18 Kg7 23. Red1 Rcc7 24. a4 Kf6 25. f4 Rc4 26. g3 Ke7 27. Kf2
Rbc7 28. h4 Rb7 29. h5 Rc8 30. hxg6 hxg6 31. Rh1 Rf8 32. Ke3 Rf5 (32... Rc7 {
might work better.} 33. g4 Rg8 34. Rh7+ Rg7) 33. Rh7+ Ke8 (33... Rf7 $142) 34.
Rd6 Nf8 35. Rh6 Rb6 36. Rxb6 axb6 {Endgame KRN-KRN} 37. g4 Rf6 38. Nd4 Kf7 39.
g5 {White is clearly winning.} Rd6 (39... Kg7 $142 40. f5 Rf7) 40. Ke4 b5 41.
a5 Kg7 42. Ke5 Rf6 43. gxf6+ Kxh6 {[#]} 44. Nxb5 $1 {Precision: White = 79%,
Black = 26%.} 1-0
would win.} Na6 {B06: Modern Defence} 7. Be3 (7. Nf3 e6 8. Bc3 Kf8 9. Bxg7+
Kxg7 10. Nc3 Nf6 11. Qd4 Qxd4 12. Nxd4 Nc7 13. e5 Ng4 14. f4 f6 15. Nf3 fxe5
16. fxe5 {1-0 (46) Solodovnichenko,Y (2584)-Guseinov,G (2614) Dubai 2015}) 7...
Qa5+ 8. c3 Nf6 {White is slightly better.} 9. Bd4 O-O 10. Nxe7+ Kh8 11. Qf3 Nh5
$146 {Threatens to win with ...Bxd4.} ({Predecessor:} 11... Ne8 12. Ne2 Nec7
13. h4 Ne6 14. Bxg7+ Kxg7 15. O-O-O Qxa2 16. h5 Qa1+ 17. Kc2 Qa4+ 18. Kd2 Re8
19. hxg6 Ng5 20. Rxh7+ {1-0 (20) Bakr Jwan,J (2330)-Salepci,O (2117) Izmir 2007
}) 12. Bxg7+ Nxg7 13. Bxa6 bxa6 14. Nxc8 Rfxc8 15. Ne2 Rab8 16. b4 ({Resist}
16. Qxf7 $6 Rxb2 17. Rd1 Rd8 $14) 16... Qe5 17. O-O Rc4 18. Qxf7 Qxe4 19. Rfe1
Qe6 20. Qxe6 Nxe6 21. Rad1 Rb7 (21... a5 $16 22. Rxd7 (22. bxa5 Nc5 $16) 22...
axb4) 22. Rd5 $18 Kg7 23. Red1 Rcc7 24. a4 Kf6 25. f4 Rc4 26. g3 Ke7 27. Kf2
Rbc7 28. h4 Rb7 29. h5 Rc8 30. hxg6 hxg6 31. Rh1 Rf8 32. Ke3 Rf5 (32... Rc7 {
might work better.} 33. g4 Rg8 34. Rh7+ Rg7) 33. Rh7+ Ke8 (33... Rf7 $142) 34.
Rd6 Nf8 35. Rh6 Rb6 36. Rxb6 axb6 {Endgame KRN-KRN} 37. g4 Rf6 38. Nd4 Kf7 39.
g5 {White is clearly winning.} Rd6 (39... Kg7 $142 40. f5 Rf7) 40. Ke4 b5 41.
a5 Kg7 42. Ke5 Rf6 43. gxf6+ Kxh6 {[#]} 44. Nxb5 $1 {Precision: White = 79%,
Black = 26%.} 1-0
GM Shyam Sundar scored 5.5/9 points. He defeated IM Abhimanyu Puranik in the sixth round.
[Event "36th Zalakaros Festival 2017"]
[Site "Zalakaros"]
[Date "2017.05.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Shyam, Sundar M"]
[Black "Puranik, Abhimanyu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2535"]
[BlackElo "2459"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[Site "Zalakaros"]
[Date "2017.05.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Shyam, Sundar M"]
[Black "Puranik, Abhimanyu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2535"]
[BlackElo "2459"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 h6 8. Na3 {
5 C4: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3} (8. b4 $5 Ba7 9.
Bb2 $14) (8. Re1 O-O 9. b4 Ba7 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. h3 exd4 13. cxd4 d5
14. exd5 Nxd5 15. b5 axb5 16. axb5 {0-1 (38) Fressinet,L (2676)-Inarkiev,E
(2732) Germany 2017}) 8... O-O 9. Re1 (9. b4 $5 Bb6 10. h3 $11) 9... Ba7 10.
Nc2 {The position is equal.} Ne7 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Nxe3 Ng6 13. a5 Nf4 $146 ({
Predecessor:} 13... c6 14. Bb3 b5 {0-1 (58) Horvath,A (2478)-Kakabayaev,M
(2283) Budapest 2017}) 14. d4 Nxe4 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17. Nxe5 Be6 18.
Rad1 (18. g3 $5 Bxc4 19. N3xc4 Nh3+ 20. Kg2 Nhxf2 21. Re2 $11) 18... Bxc4 19.
N3xc4 Rxd1 (19... Nc5 {looks sharper.} 20. g3 Nfe6 21. Ne3 Nb3 22. N5c4 Rxd1
23. Rxd1 Rd8) 20. Rxd1 f6 21. Ng4 Re8 22. Nge3 h5 23. h4 Kf8 24. Kf1 Ne6 25.
Ke2 g5 26. g3 (26. Kf3 $5 N6c5 27. g3 $14) 26... Kf7 27. Rd7+ (27. Kf3 $5 N6c5
28. Rd4 $14) 27... Re7 (27... Kg6 $11) 28. Rxe7+ $16 Kxe7 {Endgame KNN-KNN} 29.
Nd5+ Kf7 {[#]} 30. Ke3 $1 gxh4 (30... Nd6 $14 31. Nxd6+ cxd6) 31. gxh4 ({
But not} 31. Kxe4 $2 h3 $19) 31... f5 32. f3 Nf6 (32... N4c5 $16) 33. Ne5+ $18
Kg7 34. Nf4 Nd8 35. b4 Kf8 36. Nfg6+ Kg7 37. Ne7 Ne8 {White should prevent ...
Kf6.} 38. Nxf5+ Kf6 39. Ke4 Ne6 (39... Ke6 $142 40. Nd4+ Kf6 41. Nd7+ Kg6 42.
Ne5+ Kf6 43. Nd7+ Ke7) 40. Nd7+ Kg6 41. c4 Kf7 42. f4 Kg6 $2 {[#]} (42... Nd8
43. Ne5+ Ke6) 43. c5 Kf7 44. Ne5+ Kf6 45. Ng3 {White is clearly winning.} N6g7
46. f5 Ke7 47. Kf4 Nf6 48. Kg5 Nd5 49. Kg6 {Precision: White = 69%, Black =
41%.} 1-0
5 C4: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3} (8. b4 $5 Ba7 9.
Bb2 $14) (8. Re1 O-O 9. b4 Ba7 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. h3 exd4 13. cxd4 d5
14. exd5 Nxd5 15. b5 axb5 16. axb5 {0-1 (38) Fressinet,L (2676)-Inarkiev,E
(2732) Germany 2017}) 8... O-O 9. Re1 (9. b4 $5 Bb6 10. h3 $11) 9... Ba7 10.
Nc2 {The position is equal.} Ne7 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Nxe3 Ng6 13. a5 Nf4 $146 ({
Predecessor:} 13... c6 14. Bb3 b5 {0-1 (58) Horvath,A (2478)-Kakabayaev,M
(2283) Budapest 2017}) 14. d4 Nxe4 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17. Nxe5 Be6 18.
Rad1 (18. g3 $5 Bxc4 19. N3xc4 Nh3+ 20. Kg2 Nhxf2 21. Re2 $11) 18... Bxc4 19.
N3xc4 Rxd1 (19... Nc5 {looks sharper.} 20. g3 Nfe6 21. Ne3 Nb3 22. N5c4 Rxd1
23. Rxd1 Rd8) 20. Rxd1 f6 21. Ng4 Re8 22. Nge3 h5 23. h4 Kf8 24. Kf1 Ne6 25.
Ke2 g5 26. g3 (26. Kf3 $5 N6c5 27. g3 $14) 26... Kf7 27. Rd7+ (27. Kf3 $5 N6c5
28. Rd4 $14) 27... Re7 (27... Kg6 $11) 28. Rxe7+ $16 Kxe7 {Endgame KNN-KNN} 29.
Nd5+ Kf7 {[#]} 30. Ke3 $1 gxh4 (30... Nd6 $14 31. Nxd6+ cxd6) 31. gxh4 ({
But not} 31. Kxe4 $2 h3 $19) 31... f5 32. f3 Nf6 (32... N4c5 $16) 33. Ne5+ $18
Kg7 34. Nf4 Nd8 35. b4 Kf8 36. Nfg6+ Kg7 37. Ne7 Ne8 {White should prevent ...
Kf6.} 38. Nxf5+ Kf6 39. Ke4 Ne6 (39... Ke6 $142 40. Nd4+ Kf6 41. Nd7+ Kg6 42.
Ne5+ Kf6 43. Nd7+ Ke7) 40. Nd7+ Kg6 41. c4 Kf7 42. f4 Kg6 $2 {[#]} (42... Nd8
43. Ne5+ Ke6) 43. c5 Kf7 44. Ne5+ Kf6 45. Ng3 {White is clearly winning.} N6g7
46. f5 Ke7 47. Kf4 Nf6 48. Kg5 Nd5 49. Kg6 {Precision: White = 69%, Black =
41%.} 1-0
Hemant Sharma ended his long awaited IM title drought by scoring his third and final norm in this tournament. Exclusive interview will be published soon on ChessBase India.
Pragga had a forgettable tournament—he had lost to GM Li Bo in an unfortunate fashion. The young prodigy's penultimate round incident can be read here.
WIM Rucha Pujari lost to WGM Gara Ticia in the final round. Rucha's overall score is 3.5/9 points.
Final Ranking crosstable after 9 Rounds
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | FED | 1.Rd | 2.Rd | 3.Rd | 4.Rd | 5.Rd | 6.Rd | 7.Rd | 8.Rd | 9.Rd | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | GM | Zubov Alexander | 2604 | UKR | 25b0 | 94w1 | 63b1 | 52w½ | 50b1 | 19w1 | 3b½ | 23w1 | 5b1 | 7,0 | 46,5 | 31,5 |
| 2 | GM | Rapport Richard | 2698 | HUN | 39w1 | 18b0 | 58w½ | 69b1 | 35w½ | 52b1 | 13w1 | 24b1 | 7w1 | 7,0 | 45,5 | 31,0 |
| 3 | GM | Mikhalevski Victor | 2520 | ISR | 72w½ | 76b1 | 73w1 | 10b½ | 4w1 | 9b½ | 1w½ | 17b½ | 20w1 | 6,5 | 48,0 | 33,0 |
| 4 | GM | Kovalenko Igor | 2657 | LAT | 80b1 | 30w1 | 19b½ | 16w½ | 3b0 | 60w1 | 38b1 | 8w½ | 22b1 | 6,5 | 48,0 | 32,5 |
| 5 | GM | Nabaty Tamir | 2640 | ISR | 85b½ | 61w1 | 36b1 | 37w1 | 18b½ | 8w1 | 24w1 | 7b½ | 1w0 | 6,5 | 47,5 | 36,0 |
| 6 | GM | Markus Robert | 2673 | SRB | 28w½ | 53b½ | 54w1 | 35b½ | 31w1 | 21b½ | 16w½ | 37b1 | 17w1 | 6,5 | 46,5 | 30,0 |
| 7 | GM | Banusz Tamas | 2616 | HUN | 100b1 | 77w1 | 38b1 | 18w½ | 20w½ | 13b½ | 9w1 | 5w½ | 2b0 | 6,0 | 48,5 | 35,5 |
| 8 | GM | Papp Gabor | 2592 | HUN | 54w1 | 106b½ | 45w1 | 27b1 | 51w1 | 5b0 | 10w½ | 4b½ | 13w½ | 6,0 | 48,5 | 34,0 |
| 9 | GM | Danin Alexandre | 2543 | RUS | 68b1 | 43w1 | 50b½ | 19w½ | 40b1 | 3w½ | 7b0 | 55w1 | 11b½ | 6,0 | 47,5 | 33,0 |
| 10 | GM | Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter | 2686 | GER | 114b1 | 36w½ | 55b1 | 3w½ | 23b½ | 20w1 | 8b½ | 22w½ | 14b½ | 6,0 | 47,0 | 32,5 |
| 11 | GM | Gupta Abhijeet | 2626 | IND | 58w1 | 35b½ | 57w1 | 21b½ | 16w½ | 51b1 | 17w½ | 20b½ | 9w½ | 6,0 | 46,0 | 32,5 |
| 12 | GM | Efimenko Zahar | 2648 | UKR | 53w½ | 28b½ | 89w1 | 44b1 | 13w0 | 35b½ | 31w1 | 16b½ | 46w1 | 6,0 | 45,5 | 28,5 |
| 13 | GM | Horvath Jozsef | 2526 | HUN | 103b1 | 56w½ | 83b½ | 71w1 | 12b1 | 7w½ | 2b0 | 40w1 | 8b½ | 6,0 | 45,0 | 32,0 |
| 14 | GM | Vajda Levente | 2600 | ROU | 65w½ | 74b1 | 31w1 | 51b0 | 45w½ | 62b1 | 21w½ | 35b1 | 10w½ | 6,0 | 44,0 | 30,0 |
| 15 | IM | Aczel Gergely | 2546 | HUN | 69w0 | 88b0 | 86w½ | 98b1 | 92w1 | 39b½ | 42w1 | 50w1 | 36b1 | 6,0 | 37,5 | 22,5 |
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