1st Vezerkepzo IM R8: Leon takes a full point lead heading into the final round

by Shahid Ahmed - 03/02/2021

Leon extended his lead to a full point 7.5/8 as he beat IM Sandor Farago of Hungary convincingly in the penultimate round of 1st Vezerkepzo IM Round-Robin. His closest rival in the event is GM Milan Pacher who is at 6.5/8. They will clash against each other in the final round to decide the winner. Leon needs just a draw to win the event, however a win in the final round means he will finish two points ahead of the competition which will assert his dominance. Final round starts today at 6:30 p.m. IST. Check out Leon's penultimate round win over Farago. Photo: Niki Riga

Leon is just a draw away from winning the tournament

India's 67th and latest GM Leon Luke Mendonca extended his lead to a full point by scoring victory over IM Sandor Farago. Leon is now at 7.5/8 and he is pursued by GM Milan Pacher 6.5/8 who will duke it out in the final round.

Leon is on the brink of first tournament victory in 2021 | Photo: Niki Riga

A small bump

Leon scored a fantastic victory in the penultimate eighth round, however there was a slight opportunity for his opponent IM Sandor Farago to stir up some trouble.

Sandor - Leon

Position after 17...Nc5

In a seemingly equal position, Leon defended the e6-pawn incorrectly with 17...Nc5. Find out why it is a mistake and what was the better way for black to defend it.

Standings after Round 8

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	n	w-we	K	rtg+/-
1	7	IM	Mendonca Leon Luke	IND	2538	7,5	0,0	23,25	8	0,50	10	5,0
2	3	GM	Pacher Milan	SVK	2394	6,5	0,0	20,50	8	0,48	10	4,8
3	10	FM	Bodi Tibor	HUN	2384	5,5	0,0	17,25	8	0,13	20	2,6
4	1	FM	Pasti Aron	HUN	2198	5,0	0,0	13,25	8	1,52	20	30,4
5	6	CM	Papadiamandis Elliot	FRA	2134	4,0	0,0	14,75	8	1,24	40	49,6
6	2	IM	Farago Sandor	HUN	2193	3,5	0,0	12,75	8	0,20	10	2,0
7	9	FM	Lyell Mark	ENG	2198	3,0	0,0	6,25	8	-0,48	20	-9,6
8	5		Palczert Botond	HUN	2082	2,5	0,0	5,75	8	0,05	40	2,0
9	4		Lakatos Tamas	HUN	2198	1,5	0,0	3,00	8	-1,89	40	-75,6
10	8		Konyves Almos	HUN	2131	1,0	0,0	2,75	8	-1,75	40	-70,0