Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2023 R4: Aryan and Donchenko are the coleaders 4/4
by Shahid Ahmed - 28/06/2023
GM Leon Luke Mendonca held Germany no.2 GM Matthias Bluebaum to a draw in the fourth round of Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2023 Open, part of 50th International Dortmund Chess Days. The teenager made a nice positional exchange sacrifice. The continuation to capitalize on his advantage was quite complex for human to find. Naturally, Leon did not play it and the game ended in a draw. GM Aryan Chopra defeated IM Arthur Guo (USA) after a 5.5 hour long battle to maintain his lead with GM Alexander Donchenko (GER) at 4/4 each. They will inevitably face each other in the fifth round. Defending NC World Masters champion, GM Dmitrij Kollars defeated the former world champion GM Vladimir Kramnik in a wild game. Round 5 Open and Sportland NRW Cup, Round 3 NC World Masters starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FI Niklesh Jain
Kollars beats Kramnik in a wild game
11-year-old FM Besou Hussain (GER, 2325) held GM Karthik Venkataraman (2548) to a draw. Karthik was lost for the better part of the endgame. However, he managed to use his experience and salvage a draw against the prodigy. IM Ruben Gideon Köllner (GER, 2429) defeated GM Mihal Saltaev (UZB, 2462) to emerge sole leader 3.5/4. Karthik is at 2.5/4.
GM Aryan Chopra (pictured) and GM Alexander Donchenko (GER) are at 4/4 each | Photo: FI Niklesh Jain
Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2023 - 50th International Dortmund Chess Days | Photo: Official site
Open Round 4: Leon - Bluebaum: 0.5-0.5
GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2623) faced the Germany no.2 GM Matthias Bluebaum (2672) only once before almost two years ago. The teenager lost that game. This time, he got himself a very good position.
Position after 21.Rd6
21.Rd6! is a nice interference. Black is forced to retreat his knight. Taking the rook results in Black losing two minor pieces for the rook and White ending up with a passed pawn on d6. 21...Ne6 22.Bxe6 fxe6 23.Nd4 because knight will be placed better on e6 than the rook. 23...Bxd6 24.exd6 Rd7 25.Nxe6 Rff7 26.Nc5 instead the computer suggest the inhuman 26.Nxg7! to be the best continuation for White. 26...Rxg7 27.Bxg7 and White can win the game due to the power of the strong passed pawn at d6. If Black decides against taking the knight and goes 26...c5 27.Ne6 Qf3 28.Qxf3 Rxf3 29.Be5 White maintains his decisive advantage. Well, Leon is human, thus the game ended in a draw.
GM Leon Luke Mendonca 3.5/4 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
IM Muthaiah Al (pictured) - GM Rasmus Svane (GER): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
Defending NC World Masters champion, GM Dmitrij Kollars won a wild game against GM Vladimir Kramnik | Photo: Official site
Dmitrij Kollars after his win over Vladimir Kramnik (German audio) | Video: Dortmund Chess Channel
Ruben Köllner with rook sacrifice on h7 against Caro-Kann (German audio) | Video: Dortmund Chess Channel
Replay 50th International Dortmund Chess Days 2023 Day 4 Live commentary by GM Artur Yusupov and WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni | Video: Dortmund Chess Channel
Replay Sportland NRW Cup Round 4 games
Replay Sparkassen Chess Trophy Open A Round 4 games