5th Stepan Avagyan Memorial R2: Arjun Erigaisi wins two in-a-row, now live rating 2777.2
Arjun Erigaisi won his second consecutive game at 5th Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2024. He employed the Schliemann Defense in the Ruy Lopez against Shant Sargsyan (ARM). In a complex double rook endgame, Shant captured a pawn incorrectly. It resulted in him having a triple pawn, allowed black's rook to access the newly opened file and turn things in his favor. This win increased Arjun's live rating to 2777.2. He needs to gain 18.5 Elo rating points more to surpass Fabano Caruana (USA) and become World no.3. Haik Martirosyan (ARM) was the only other victor of the round. He handed Volodar Murzin his second consecutive loss of the event. Round 3 starts at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia
Haik scores, Murzin loses two in-a-row
Shant - Arjun: 0-1
Arjun Erigaisi (2761) opted for the Schliemann Defense in the Ruy Lopez against Shant Sargsyan (ARM, 2639).
In a complex double rook endgame, White made a critical error 32.gxf6?? h5+! and now Black is in driver's seat 33.Kh3 Rxc3+ 34.Kh2 e3 35.Rg1 Rf8 36.Rg6 Rc2+ 37.Kg3 e2 and the passed e-pawn played a crucial role in Black gaining a victory.
Haik - Murzin
Volodar Murzin (2650) ignored defending the d5-pawn 17...Re8? 18.Qxd5 Bg4? 19.Qxe4 Bxf3 20.Bxf3 Bxe5 21.Rad1 and White went on to win the game using the extra pawn to his advantage.
Replay Round 2 games
Round 2 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2662 | GM | Martirosyan Haik M. | 1 - 0 | GM | Murzin Volodar | 2650 | 6 | |||
| 2 | 7 | 2625 | GM | Petrosyan Manuel | ½ - ½ | GM | Deac Bogdan-Daniel | 2680 | 5 | |||
| 3 | 8 | 2611 | GM | Hovhannisyan Robert | ½ - ½ | GM | Bluebaum Matthias | 2647 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 9 | 2639 | GM | Sargsyan Shant | 0 - 1 | GM | Erigaisi Arjun | 2761 | 3 | |||
| 5 | 1 | 2713 | GM | Tabatabaei M. Amin | ½ - ½ | GM | Sevian Samuel | 2687 | 2 |
Standings after Round 2
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | GM | Erigaisi Arjun | IND | 2761 | 2 | 1,00 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2 | 5 | GM | Deac Bogdan-Daniel | ROU | 2680 | 1,5 | 0,50 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | GM | Martirosyan Haik M. | ARM | 2662 | 1,5 | 0,50 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 7 | GM | Petrosyan Manuel | ARM | 2625 | 1 | 1,25 | 0 | 1 | |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Tabatabaei M. Amin | IRI | 2713 | 1 | 1,25 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 2 | GM | Sevian Samuel | USA | 2687 | 1 | 0,75 | 0 | 1 | |
| 4 | GM | Bluebaum Matthias | GER | 2647 | 1 | 0,75 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 8 | 8 | GM | Hovhannisyan Robert | ARM | 2611 | 0,5 | 0,50 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 | GM | Sargsyan Shant | ARM | 2639 | 0,5 | 0,50 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 10 | 6 | GM | Murzin Volodar | FID | 2650 | 0 | 0,00 | 0 | 2 |
Round 3 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2687 | GM | Sevian Samuel | GM | Martirosyan Haik M. | 2662 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 3 | 2761 | GM | Erigaisi Arjun | GM | Tabatabaei M. Amin | 2713 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 2647 | GM | Bluebaum Matthias | GM | Sargsyan Shant | 2639 | 9 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 2680 | GM | Deac Bogdan-Daniel | GM | Hovhannisyan Robert | 2611 | 8 | ||||
| 5 | 6 | 2650 | GM | Murzin Volodar | GM | Petrosyan Manuel | 2625 | 7 |
Time Control
90 minutes for the first 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game (with 30 seconds increment starting from move one).
Prizes
The total prize fund is 7450000 AMD (≈ US$ 18400). The top three prizes are 3100000 AMD (≈ US$ 7976), 1 850 000 AMD (≈ US$ 4760) and 1500000 (≈ US$ 3859). There are also Chessify prizes for all ten participants. The top three Chessify prizes are - bundles worth $350, $300 and $250 each.
Schedule
| Sunday | 9 June at 19:00 | Opening Ceremony |
| Monday | 10 June at 15:00 | Round 1 |
| Tuesday | 11 June at 15:00 | Round 2 |
| Wednesday | 12 June at 15:00 | Round 3 |
| Thursday | 13 June at 15:00 | Round 4 |
| Friday | 14 June at 15:00 | Round 5 |
| Saturday | 15 June at 15:00 | Round 6 |
| Sunday | 16 June at 15:00 | Round 7 |
| Monday | 17 June at 15:00 | Round 8 |
| Tuesday | 18 June at 11:00 | Round 9 |
| Tuesday | 18 June at 17:00 | Closing Ceremony |
