Grandmasters Solodovnichenko Yuri (Ukraine) & Belous Vladimir (Russia) shared the lead with 7.5 points after the ninth and penultimate round of the 8th Chennai Open International Grandmaster Chess tournament 2016 for Sakthi Group Dr N Mahalingam trophy, held at Nehru Stadium, Chennai here today.
Four players closed in on the leaders at 7.0 points viz., Mozharov Mikhail (Russia), Dzhumaev Marat (Uzbekistan), Grachev Boris (Russia) and Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman (India) respectively.
GMs Mozharov & Solodovnichenko at the start of the game
Earlier, 15-year-old Bihar lad Kumar Gaurav did himself and country proud, snatching the first Norm of the event. Holding International Master Ramnath Bhuvanesh to a draw, Kumar Gaurav made his maiden International Master Norm scoring 6.0 points from nine rounds.
Going into the final round, three players are holding Norm chances viz., Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman (GM Norm), Rathanvel V S and Erigaisi Arjun (both IM Norm). All three need to win their final round game to achieve the subject Norm. Vijayalakshmi faces GM Mozharov Mikhail of Russia and Rathanvel V S takes on GM Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam, while Erigaisi Arjun squares off against fellow Indian International Master N R Visakh.
IM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman playing GM Demchenko Anton of Russia
In a day of twin upsets, Vijayalakshmi scored over GM Demchenko Anton of Russia while International Master Ramanathan Balasubramaniam defeated GM Czebe Attila of Hungary.
The exciting final round is scheduled for tomorrow, with cash prizes worth Rs.1100000 (Rupees Eleven Lakhs only) waiting to be won.
IM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman (2351) – GM Demchenko Anton (2596)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. e4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Re8 10. Re1 Nc5 11. Rb1 Bd7 12. Bf4 Ng4 13. h3 Ne5 14. Bf1 Qc8 15. Kh2 Ned3 16. Bxd3 Bxd4 17. Bf1 Bg7 18. Nd5 c6 19. Nc3 Be5 20. Bxe5 dxe5 21. Qd6 b6 22. Red1 a5 23. b3 Be6 24. a3 Ra7 25. b4 axb4 26. axb4 Rd7 27. bxc5 Rxd6 28. cxd6 Qa8 29. Rxb6 Qa3 30. Nb1 Qc5 31. Rb2 Ra8 32. Kg1 Kf8 33. Nc3 Rd8 34. Rbd2 Qa5 35. Na2 Ke8 36. Nc1 Qb4 37. Na2 Qa3 38. Nc1 g5 39. Kg2 Qb4 40. Na2 Qc5 41. Be2 Ra8 42. Nc1 h6 43. d7+ Kd8 44. Nd3 Qa5 45. Ne1 Ra7 46. Nc2 Qc3 47. Ne3 Ra1 48. Bg4 Rxd1 49. Rxd1 Bxc4 50. Nxc4 Qxc4 51. Bf5 Qb4 52. g4 Qa3 53. h4 gxh4 54. Rh1 Kc7 55. Rxh4 c5 56. g5 h5 57. Rxh5 Qa8 58. Rh1 c4 59. Rc1 Qa4 60. Rb1 Qa5 61. Rd1 Kd8 62. Rh1 Ke7 63. Rh8 1-0
Report by R R Vasudevan
GM Grachev Boris (Russia) facing GM Bernadskiy Vitaliy (Ukraine)
GM Neverov Valeriy & WGM Kulkarni Bhakti watching IM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman’s game
