ECCC R2: Arjun Erigaisi and Gukesh just keep winning

by Shahid Ahmed - 22/10/2024

GM D Gukesh and GM Arjun Erigaisi keep winning their games and move closer to 2800. Their live ratings are now 2796.4 and 2798.3 each respectively. Gukesh's team Superchess won 0.5-5.5 against Etude Ramat Gan Dov Porat Memorial. Arjun's team Alkaloid whitewashed ŠK K CERO INVEST Nitra 6-0. His teammates GM Aravindh Chithambaram and GM S L Narayanan also won their games. GM Vidit Gujrathi (Novy Bor Chess Club), GM Nihal Sarin (Turkish Airlines), GM Leon Luke Mendonca and GM Aryan Chopra (Vados Chess Club) won their respective games and the team won the matches too. GM R Vaishali (Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo) and WGM Savitha Shri B (Rudar Kostolac) scored crucial victories to ensure their teams do not lose the match. Round 3 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Vaishali and Savitha save their respective teams

The second round witnessed 12 out of 13 Indians in action and the best news is none of them lost their games and their team did not lose the match either. GM R Vaishali and WGM Savitha Shri B won their respective games which saved their teams Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo and Rudar Kostolac from defeat. GM R Praggnanandhaa (Superchess) was held to a draw by IM Yotam Shohat (Etude Ramat Gan Dov Porat Memorial).

Captain of Superchess and World-Class trainer - GM Ivan Sokolov spectates his teammates in action | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Rested Indians in Round 2: GM Pentala Harikrishna (Novy Bor Chess Club).

Open: Etude Ramat Gan Dov Porat Memorial - SuperChess: 0.5-5.5

GM D Gukesh (2794), GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2783), GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2691), GM Jorden van Foreest (2697) and GM Javokhir Sindarov (2668) won their respective games for Superchess against IM David Gorodetzky (2497), IM Guy Levin (2435), IM Johnatan Bakalchuk (2446), IM Ori Kochavi (2371) and FM Yonathan Uritsky (2307). Only GM R Praggnanandhaa (2746) conceded a draw against IM Yotam Shohat (2415).

Gorodetzky - Gukesh

Position after 21...Nb6

Gukesh had a very similar position as the previous day. 18.e4 fxe4 19.dxe4 c4 20.f5 Bf7 21.b4 Nb6 and we reach the above position. 22.Nec3 Qc6 23.Ne3 Na4 24.Nxa4 bxa4 25.Nd5 Bxd5 26.exd5 Qd7 despite White having a bishop pair, they are ineffective. Comparatively Black's bishop is now on an open diagonal and the knight can hop around. Black finished the game with a nice tactic at the end.

The World Championship Challenger Gukesh is back on the board - Analysis by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

D Gukesh once again outplayed his opponent for the second consecutive game finishing with a nice tactic | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Etude Ramat Gan Dov Porat Memorial - Superchess: 0.5-5.5

Replay Etude Ramat Gan Dov Porat Memorial - Superchess games

Alkaloid - ŠK K CERO INVEST Nitra: 0.5-5.5

GM Arjun Erigaisi (2797), GM Wei Yi (2763), GM Yangyi Yu (2717), GM Aravindh Chithambaram (2698), GM S L Narayanan (2640) and GM Alesandar Indjic (2620) defeated IM Filip Haring (2486), IM Samir Sahidi (2481), IM Martin Jablonicky (2424), IM Stefan Mazur (2432), FM Milan Chovan (2336) and FM Peter Martiska (2179) respectively.

Arjun - Haring

Position after 14.e6

14.e6 posed a simple question to Black if he is okay with destroying his own pawn structure or whether he wants to regain the lost pawn. He opted for the latter which is incorrect. 14...gxf4 15.exd7 Bxd7 helps Black to complete the development of pieces and position remains balanced. Instead, 14...fxe6 15.Bd6 Rd8 16.Bb5 a6 17.e4 Ra7 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.Rfe1 Black could not get his pieces out. To free them up, it worsened things further 19...Rb7 20.Rxa6 Nb8 21.Bxb8 Rxb8 22.Rxc6 Black could not recover for the rest of the game and went on to lose.

GM Arjun Erigaisi is in terrific form | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Stefan - Aravindh

Position after 18.c4?

Find out why 18.c4? is a mistake and how GM Aravindh Chithambaram seized his opportunity against IM Stefan Mazur.

Narayanan - Chovan

Position after 32...Rec8?

32...Rec8? ignored the obvious threat 33.f5 Rxc1 34.Qxc1 Qc4 trying to trade the queens and reduce the propensity of attack 35.Qf4 Bg7 36.f6 Bf8 37.e6 fxe6 38.f7+ Kh8 39.b3 Qd3 40.Nxe6 h5 41.Nxf8 and it is over.

GM S L Narayanan won his second game in-a-row | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Alkaloid scored a 6-0 whitewash over ŠK K CERO INVEST Nitra | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Alkaloid - ŠK K CERO INVEST Nitra: 0.5-5.5

Replay Alkaloid - ŠK K CERO INVEST Nitra games

GM Vidit Gujrathi started his campaign with a win over GM Alvar Alonso Rosell | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

C.A. Silla Integrant Col-lectius - Novy Bor Chess Club: 0-6

GM Nihal Sarin won his first game for Turkish Airlines at this event as his team beat GAMBIT ASEE 1.5-4.5 | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Women: Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica - Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo: 2-2

GM R Vaishali (2487) scored the sole win for her team Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo against IM Nurgyul Salimova (2405) of Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica. IM Gunay Mammadzada (2426) and WGM Govhar Beydullayeva (2402) held GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2533) and GM Elisabeth Paehtz (2458) to a draw each respectively. IM Leya Garifullina (2438) defeated IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2478).

Vaishali - Nurgyul

Position after 34.Re3

If Black does not defend the d3-pawn, the game could have gone on longer. The intuitive 34...Rd7 hastened Black's demise 35.Qh7 Rf7 36.Qxh5 and Black's position fell apart soon.

GM R Vaishali scored a crucial win to ensure her team does not lose | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica - Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo: 2-2

IM Divya Deshmukh (Garuda Ajka BSK) drew her game against IM Mai Narva (MSK CENTAR) | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Garuda Ajka BSK - MSK CENTAR: 3.5-0.5

WGM Savitha Shri B (Rudar Kostolac) scored her first win of the event against WIM Michal Lahav (Rishon Le Zion) | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

WGM Savitha Shri B's saved her team Rudar Kostolac against Rishon Le Zion as the match ended in a 2-2 draw | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Rishon Le Zion - Rudar Kostolac: 2-2

Seeing a happy Vasyl Ivanchuk can make everyone happy | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

D Gukesh and Vishy Anand joined one of the official commentators - GM Alojzije Jankovic (CRO) during the live stream of Round 2 | Photo: European Chess Club Cup

Watch live stream

Replay European Chess Club Cup 2024 Round 2 Live Commentary by GM Alojzije Jankovic (CRO) and Dragana Nikolovska (MKD) | Video: European Chess Union

Everyday round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST from 20th to 25th October 2024. The final round on 26th October starts 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. The seven-round Swiss system tournament has a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move one. The tournament will be taking place at Hotel Zepter in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia.

Replay Round 2 Open games

Replay Round 2 Women games

Round 2 Open results

No.	Team	Team	Res.	:	Res.
1	Etude Ramat Gan Dov Porat Memorial	SuperChess	½	:	5½
2	Alkaloid	ŠK K CERO INVEST Nitra	6	:	0
3	C.A. Silla Integrant Col-lectius	Novy Bor Chess Club	0	:	6
4	Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club	LSG	5½	:	½
5	GAMBIT ASEE	Turkish Airlines	1½	:	4½
6	TAJFUN-ŠK Ljubljana	Perfect	5	:	1
7	ŠK Dunajská Streda	Sentimento Ajka BSK	2	:	4
8	Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub	The Sharks	5	:	1
9	FC ST.Pauli 1910 eV Sabt	C'Chartres Echecs	1½	:	4½
10	Vugar Gashimov	Lunds ASK	4½	:	1½

Details

Standings after Round 2

Rk.	SNo	Team	Games	+	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5
1	2	Alkaloid	2	2	4	12	11,5	10,5	10,5
2	3	Novy Bor Chess Club	2	2	4	12	11,5	9,5	9,5
3	9	C'Chartres Echecs	2	2	4	12	10,5	12,5	12,5
4	17	Elektroprivreda	2	2	4	12	10	14	14
5	20	SK Rockaden	2	2	4	12	10	12	12
6	4	Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club	2	2	4	11	11	9,5	9,5
7	1	SuperChess	2	2	4	11	10,5	11	11
	8	Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub	2	2	4	11	10,5	11	11
9	10	Vugar Gashimov	2	2	4	11	10	11	11
10	18	Kavala Chess Club	2	2	4	11	10	9	9

Details

Round 3 pairings

No.	Team	Team	:
1	SuperChess	Vugar Gashimov	:
2	Beer Sheva Chess Club	Alkaloid	:
3	Novy Bor Chess Club	Vados Chess Club	:
4	Kfar Saba	Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club	:
5	Turkish Airlines	SK JAVES Modra	:
6	Zmaj	TAJFUN-ŠK Ljubljana	:
7	Sentimento Ajka BSK	Elektroprivreda	:
8	Kavala Chess Club	Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub	:
9	C'Chartres Echecs	SK Rockaden	:
10	Breidablik Chess Club	Rishon Le Zion A	:

Details

Round 2 Women results

No.	Team	Team	Res.	:	Res.
1	Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica	Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo	2	:	2
2	Garuda Ajka BSK	MSK CENTAR	3½	:	½
3	Gambit Bonnevoie	TAJFUN-ŠK Ljubljana	½	:	3½
4	SuperChess Club	Schachgesellschaft Solingen A	4	:	0
5	SK JAVES Modra	Crvena zvezda - Data Driven Lab	1	:	3
6	Rishon Le Zion	Rudar Kostolac	2	:	2
7	Wasa SK	She Plays To Win Lionesses	2½	:	1½
8	SK Zmaj	Napredak Zenica	1	:	3
9	Schachgesellschaft Solingen B	Tallinn Chess Club	3	:	1

Details

Standings after Round 2

Rk.	SNo	Team	Games	+	=	-	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5
1	4	SuperChess Club	2	2	0	0	4	8	7,5	6	6
2	3	TAJFUN-ŠK Ljubljana	2	2	0	0	4	8	7,5	5,5	5,5
3	2	Garuda Ajka BSK	2	2	0	0	4	7	6,5	7	7
4	9	Crvena zvezda - Data Driven Lab	2	2	0	0	4	0	6	3	3
5	5	Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica	2	1	1	0	3	6	6	9	6
6	1	Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo	2	1	1	0	3	6	6	7	4
7	6	MSK CENTAR	2	1	0	1	2	2	4	9	2,5
8	13	Napredak Zenica	2	1	0	1	2	2	3,5	10	2,5
9	7	Gambit Bonnevoie	2	1	0	1	2	2	3	10,5	3
10	14	Schachgesellschaft Solingen B	2	1	0	1	2	0	3	8	2

Details

Round 3 pairings

No.	Team	Team	:
1	SuperChess Club	Garuda Ajka BSK	:
2	TAJFUN-ŠK Ljubljana	Crvena zvezda - Data Driven Lab	:
3	MSK CENTAR	Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo	:
4	Schachgesellschaft Solingen A	Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica	:
5	Wasa SK	Gambit Bonnevoie	:
6	Napredak Zenica	Rudar Kostolac	:
7	Schachgesellschaft Solingen B	Rishon Le Zion	:
8	Tallinn Chess Club	SK JAVES Modra	:
9	She Plays To Win Lionesses	SK Zmaj	:

Details

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations

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