1st Guwahati GM Open R4-5: The Wrath of Ratnakaran
IM Ratnakaran K and IM Sayantan Das emerged as the coleaders after Round 5 of 1st Guwahati International GM Open 2022. Ratnakaran won both games with a brilliant display of attack against GM Karthik Venkataraman and GM Fawzy Adham (EGY). Sayantan scored victories against Kumar Gaurav and IM Sai Agni Jeevitesh. It is well-known that both leaders have GM-level strength. Six players are trailing by a half point 4.5/5 each. They are all GMs - Neuris Delgado Ramirez (PAR), Azer Mirzoev (AZE), Iniyan P, Pavel Ponkratov, Cristhian Rios Camilo (COL) and Stany G A. Round 6 starts today at 9:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
12-year-old Akshay Borgaonkar shines
12-year-old Akshay Borgaonkar (1985) had a fantastic day. First he was on the verge of beating IM Sidhant Mohapatra (2359). The IM somehow managed to salvage a draw. In the fifth round, Akshay made the most out of his opportunity in the queen ending to beat IM Raahul V S (2478).
Round 4: Iniyan - Himal: 0.5-0.5
GM Iniyan P (2516) had a very interesting encounter against IM Himal Gusain (2408). At first Iniyan was winning then Himal and finally they arrived at a Rook vs Queen, which is known to be incredibly difficult to defend.
To win a Rook vs Queen endgame, Black needs to bring the opponent's king to the edge of the board by using Zugzwang and/or Triangulation, whichever is required according to the position. Eventually get a Philidor position like this:
If the above position is White to play then White needs to do a triangulation by queen to win it. For e.g. 1.Qe5+ Ka7/8 2.Qa1+ Kb8 3.Qa5 and White gets the same position but it is Black to play. This is all theory and easier said than done especially when you are low on time and opponent keeps defending correctly. Iniyan managed to put up incredible resistance and save the game.
Ratnakaran - Karthik: 1-0
When IM Ratnakaran K (2316) is given an opportunity to attack, he will have a great day. Unfortunately it was GM Karthik Venkataraman (2485) who had to suffer.
26.f4 flows the attack freely for White. 26...exf4 27.e5 Qg5 28.e6 Re7 29.Qe4 Be8 30.Nxd6 and it's all over for Black. He could only delay the inevitable for another 14 moves.
Akshay - Sidhant: 0.5-0.5
12-year-old Akshay Borgaonkar (1985) was completely winning against IM Sidhant Mohapatra (2359).
It is evident that White has the upper hand but how to maximize it? Find out the best continuation for White after 24...Rh6.
Round 5: Ratnakaran - Fawzy: 1-0
IM Ratnakaran K (2316) first sacrificed a piece to create a passed pawn against GM Fawzy Adham (EGY).
White sacrificed his knight at f3 to create a passed pawn on b6. 20...Qd7 21.b7 Rab8 Black could have taken the pawn 21...Qxb7 which would have met with a double attack 22.Bc5.
White had already sacrificed a knight. Now Ratnakaran decided to sacrifice an exchange 26.Rxd5 which means White is actually down by a rook. The reasoning here is simple 26...cxd5 27.bxa5 and now White wants to roll the connected passed pawns on the queenside. Computer will tell you that Black is winning but the reality is far from it. Two humans are playing, thus you have to factor in emotions, psychological aspect of the game and the clock too, none of these can be comprehended by a silicon. 27...Rxe7 28.Bxe7 Bd4 29.Bh4 the away Ratnakaran transfers his bishop from one side of the board to another is beautiful. Such creative play often induces mistakes. Adham was no exception 29...g5 30.Qg6+ Bg7 and it's all over for Black.
Can you find out the finish for White? He is truly called the Indian Tal for a reason.
Akshay - Raahul: 1-0
12-year-old Akshay Borgaonkar (1985) defeated the reigning Asian Junior champion, IM Raahul V S (2478).
Black sacrificed the pawn at a6 with a tactical idea which does not work. 27...a6 28.Qxa6 b4 29.axb4 Nxb2 and now 30.Kb3! is an excellent move. Black's knight at b2 is virtually trapped. White does not need to capture it immediately. 30...Nd1 is not actually an escape for the path because White can force the queen exchange via 31.Qd3. White eventually went on to win the queen ending after mutual errors.
Highlights
A few interesting finishes from Round 5
For more Round 4 and Round 5 photos, please click at the respective links.
A total of 254 players including 13 GMs, 16 IMs, 2 WGMs and 3 WIMs are taking part from 11 federations across the world including India. The tournament is organized by All Assam Chess Association from 14th to 20th March 2022 at Guwahati, Assam. The ten-round Swiss league tournament has a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1