Grand Swiss R09: An array of strong performances with Vishy leading the way
The FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss Isle of Man is inching closer towards the finishing line but the excitement at the top is only swelling up as after the ninth round yesterday, the event has found a fourth leader in Hikaru Nakamura. The American star defeated Vladislav Kovalev with black pieces to climb up the leaderboard and join Fabiano Caruana, David Anton Guijarro, and Levon Aronian in the lead. Vishy Anand held Kirill Alekseenko to a solid draw to remain in the chasing group, while Vidit Gujrathi and Raunak Sadhwani made emphatic comebacks. Several Indians have so far performed admirably well in this extremely strong tournament. In this report we bring you the glimpses of some of their achievements from the ninth round.
The FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss 2019 is already at its climax, with only two rounds remaining the event hardly has any one clear leader. There are four players tied for the top place and as many as eleven players follow them closely just half a point behind. The tension is getting more and more intense but how are the Indians faring in it? Well, most of them are performing higher than their stated level and some of them are definitely stealing the limelight. Needless to mention, it is Vishy Anand himself who is leading the way. The Madras Tiger started off the tournament with an upsetting loss against Evgeniy Najer but since then has risen from strength to strength to join the chasing group of eleven players that after all includes none other than the World Champion Magnus Carlsen.
The leaders of the event at the moment are Fabiano Caruana, David Anton Guijarro, Levon Aronian, and Hikaru Nakamura who share 6.5/9 points each. Among them Hikaru has joined the top only after round nine, thanks to a powerful victory with black pieces against Vladislav Kovalev of Russia. Fabiano drew his ninth round game against Magnus Carlsen. Elsewhere, Aronian and Gujjaro too split the point between themselves.
Raunak Sadhwani - the star of Indian contingent!
Coming back to the subject of Indian performances in the event, one name that immediately stands out is Raunak Sadhwani. The thirteen-year-old from Nagpur has shown some phenomenal chess to hold his own against all his 2650+ rated opponents. What is even more inspiring is that the boy needed only to show up in rounds 8-9 to secure his GM title but he rather chose to fight and delivered a crushing performance in the ninth round against Alexander Motylev. This is something that speaks volumes of the youngster's character. The following is what IOM chess tweeted about the Indian prodigy!
Without further ado let us delve into how Raunak outplayed Alexander Motylev in round nine yesterday. The Russian had the black pieces and adopted a very committal approach in the English opening by pushing g7-g5 on move 10. However, as we will see, owing to the closed nature of the position, there was no straightforward way for White to exploit the resulting weaknesses. But Raunak patiently waited for his chance and was able to open up the position eventually, after which the game was soon wound up in just 37 moves with fierce piece play.
Raunak Sadhwani - Alexander Motylev, Round 9
As a rule in such situations it is important to be patient! Raunak came up with the very ingenious idea of going 11.Ne1 here. The idea is to go clear the f3 square for the queen potentially also paving way for an f2-f4 break! And the e1 knight can surely be rerouted to c2 where it will have an active role to play.
Harika sizzles, a class act by Vidit
Harika Dronavalli started off as the highest rated female player in the event and has truly lived up to her standard. She has defended well against all her higher-rated opponents and with the victory against Axel Bachmann in round nine she is all set to grab the best female player prize of the tournament. Her closest competitor in this regard is Alina Kashlinskaya of Russia. Here is what FIDE tweeted about here:
Axel Bachmann - Harika Dronavalli, Round 9
Results of all Indian players (Round 9)
Rd. | Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
9 | 3 | 38 | GM | Alekseenko Kirill | 2674 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | GM | Anand Viswanathan | 2765 | 4 | ||
9 | 9 | 5 | GM | Yu Yangyi | 2763 | 5 | ½ - ½ | 5 | GM | Adhiban B. | 2639 | 73 | ||
9 | 16 | 17 | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | 2718 | 4½ | 1 - 0 | 5 | GM | Tari Aryan | 2630 | 85 | ||
9 | 26 | 47 | GM | Fedoseev Vladimir | 2664 | 4½ | ½ - ½ | 4½ | GM | Sethuraman S.P. | 2624 | 94 | ||
9 | 28 | 51 | GM | Dreev Aleksey | 2662 | 4½ | ½ - ½ | 4½ | GM | Narayanan.S.L | 2611 | 104 | ||
9 | 32 | 63 | GM | Melkumyan Hrant | 2650 | 4½ | ½ - ½ | 4½ | GM | Gukesh D | 2520 | 119 | ||
9 | 34 | 9 | GM | Harikrishna Pentala | 2748 | 4 | 1 - 0 | 4 | GM | Durarbayli Vasif | 2617 | 100 | ||
9 | 38 | 37 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | 2675 | 4 | 1 - 0 | 4 | GM | Volokitin Andrei | 2627 | 90 | ||
9 | 42 | 99 | GM | Vovk Andriy | 2618 | 4 | ½ - ½ | 4 | GM | Ganguly Surya Shekhar | 2658 | 54 | ||
9 | 45 | 129 | IM | Sadhwani Raunak | 2479 | 4 | 1 - 0 | 4 | GM | Motylev Alexander | 2651 | 62 | ||
9 | 47 | 105 | GM | Nihal Sarin | 2610 | 4 | 0 - 1 | 4 | GM | Chigaev Maksim | 2644 | 68 | ||
9 | 48 | 70 | GM | Bluebaum Matthias | 2643 | 4 | ½ - ½ | 4 | GM | Puranik Abhimanyu | 2571 | 114 | ||
9 | 50 | 81 | GM | Najer Evgeniy | 2635 | 4 | 1 - 0 | 4 | WGM | Soumya Swaminathan | 2365 | 149 | ||
9 | 60 | 87 | GM | Bachmann Axel | 2629 | 3½ | 0 - 1 | 3½ | GM | Harika Dronavalli | 2495 | 122 | ||
9 | 67 | 124 | GM | Prithu Gupta | 2493 | 3 | 0 - 1 | 3 | IM | Erenberg Ariel | 2463 | 133 |
Pairings of all Indian players for the next round
Rd. | Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
10 | 4 | 4 | GM | Anand Viswanathan | 2765 | 6 | 6 | GM | Wang Hao | 2726 | 15 | |||
10 | 12 | 76 | GM | Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son | 2638 | 5½ | 5½ | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | 2718 | 17 | |||
10 | 17 | 73 | GM | Adhiban B. | 2639 | 5½ | 5 | GM | Harikrishna Pentala | 2748 | 9 | |||
10 | 24 | 82 | GM | Mareco Sandro | 2634 | 5 | 5 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | 2675 | 37 | |||
10 | 29 | 94 | GM | Sethuraman S.P. | 2624 | 5 | 5 | GM | Shirov Alexei | 2664 | 49 | |||
10 | 31 | 119 | GM | Gukesh D | 2520 | 5 | 5 | GM | Dreev Aleksey | 2662 | 51 | |||
10 | 34 | 104 | GM | Narayanan.S.L | 2611 | 5 | 5 | GM | Melkumyan Hrant | 2650 | 63 | |||
10 | 35 | 22 | GM | Amin Bassem | 2699 | 4½ | 5 | IM | Sadhwani Raunak | 2479 | 129 | |||
10 | 42 | 54 | GM | Ganguly Surya Shekhar | 2658 | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Erdos Viktor | 2604 | 108 | |||
10 | 47 | 114 | GM | Puranik Abhimanyu | 2571 | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Papaioannou Ioannis | 2645 | 66 | |||
10 | 48 | 122 | GM | Harika Dronavalli | 2495 | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Riazantsev Alexander | 2645 | 67 | |||
10 | 53 | 29 | GM | Jones Gawain C B | 2688 | 4 | 4 | GM | Nihal Sarin | 2610 | 105 | |||
10 | 59 | 100 | GM | Durarbayli Vasif | 2617 | 4 | 4 | WGM | Soumya Swaminathan | 2365 | 149 | |||
10 | 69 | 146 | IM | Munguntuul Batkhuyag | 2421 | 3½ | 3 | GM | Prithu Gupta | 2493 | 124 |
Results of top ten boards (Round 9)
Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
1 | 8 | GM | Aronian Levon | 2758 | 6 | ½ - ½ | 6 | GM | Anton Guijarro David | 2674 | 39 | ||
2 | 1 | GM | Carlsen Magnus | 2876 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 6 | GM | Caruana Fabiano | 2812 | 2 | ||
3 | 38 | GM | Alekseenko Kirill | 2674 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | GM | Anand Viswanathan | 2765 | 4 | ||
4 | 48 | GM | Maghsoodloo Parham | 2664 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | GM | Karjakin Sergey | 2760 | 6 | ||
5 | 53 | GM | Kovalev Vladislav | 2661 | 5½ | 0 - 1 | 5½ | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | 2745 | 12 | ||
6 | 13 | GM | Vitiugov Nikita | 2732 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | GM | Wang Hao | 2726 | 15 | ||
7 | 18 | GM | Matlakov Maxim | 2716 | 5 | 1 - 0 | 5½ | GM | Gelfand Boris | 2686 | 30 | ||
8 | 34 | GM | McShane Luke J | 2682 | 5 | ½ - ½ | 5 | GM | So Wesley | 2767 | 3 | ||
9 | 5 | GM | Yu Yangyi | 2763 | 5 | ½ - ½ | 5 | GM | Adhiban B. | 2639 | 73 | ||
10 | 7 | GM | Grischuk Alexander | 2759 | 5 | 1 - 0 | 5 | GM | Shirov Alexei | 2664 | 49 |
Top ten pairings for the next round
Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
1 | 2 | GM | Caruana Fabiano | 2812 | 6½ | 6½ | GM | Anton Guijarro David | 2674 | 39 | |||
2 | 12 | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | 2745 | 6½ | 6½ | GM | Aronian Levon | 2758 | 8 | |||
3 | 1 | GM | Carlsen Magnus | 2876 | 6 | 6 | GM | Matlakov Maxim | 2716 | 18 | |||
4 | 4 | GM | Anand Viswanathan | 2765 | 6 | 6 | GM | Wang Hao | 2726 | 15 | |||
5 | 6 | GM | Karjakin Sergey | 2760 | 6 | 6 | GM | Alekseenko Kirill | 2674 | 38 | |||
6 | 24 | GM | Howell David W L | 2694 | 6 | 6 | GM | Grischuk Alexander | 2759 | 7 | |||
7 | 13 | GM | Vitiugov Nikita | 2732 | 6 | 6 | GM | Rakhmanov Aleksandr | 2621 | 95 | |||
8 | 19 | GM | Le Quang Liem | 2708 | 5½ | 6 | GM | Maghsoodloo Parham | 2664 | 48 | |||
9 | 3 | GM | So Wesley | 2767 | 5½ | 5½ | GM | Robson Ray | 2670 | 43 | |||
10 | 5 | GM | Yu Yangyi | 2763 | 5½ | 5½ | GM | Kryvoruchko Yuriy | 2669 | 44 |
Overall standings
Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
1 | 2 | GM | Caruana Fabiano | USA | 2812 | 6,5 | 2723 | 45,5 | 50,5 | 0,0 | ||
2 | 39 | GM | Anton Guijarro David | ESP | 2674 | 6,5 | 2696 | 44,5 | 48,0 | 0,0 | ||
3 | 8 | GM | Aronian Levon | ARM | 2758 | 6,5 | 2682 | 45,5 | 50,0 | 0,0 | ||
4 | 12 | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | USA | 2745 | 6,5 | 2646 | 38,0 | 41,5 | 0,0 | ||
5 | 15 | GM | Wang Hao | CHN | 2726 | 6,0 | 2736 | 46,5 | 51,0 | 0,0 | ||
6 | 38 | GM | Alekseenko Kirill | RUS | 2674 | 6,0 | 2708 | 42,5 | 46,0 | 0,0 | ||
7 | 48 | GM | Maghsoodloo Parham | IRI | 2664 | 6,0 | 2696 | 43,5 | 47,0 | 0,0 | ||
8 | 1 | GM | Carlsen Magnus | NOR | 2876 | 6,0 | 2688 | 43,5 | 48,0 | 0,0 | ||
9 | 95 | GM | Rakhmanov Aleksandr | RUS | 2621 | 6,0 | 2683 | 39,0 | 42,0 | 0,0 | ||
10 | 7 | GM | Grischuk Alexander | RUS | 2759 | 6,0 | 2680 | 45,0 | 49,5 | 0,0 | ||
11 | 13 | GM | Vitiugov Nikita | RUS | 2732 | 6,0 | 2666 | 41,5 | 45,5 | 0,0 | ||
12 | 6 | GM | Karjakin Sergey | RUS | 2760 | 6,0 | 2656 | 43,5 | 47,0 | 0,0 | ||
13 | 18 | GM | Matlakov Maxim | RUS | 2716 | 6,0 | 2645 | 40,0 | 44,5 | 0,0 | ||
14 | 4 | GM | Anand Viswanathan | IND | 2765 | 6,0 | 2643 | 41,0 | 44,5 | 0,0 | ||
15 | 24 | GM | Howell David W L | ENG | 2694 | 6,0 | 2635 | 38,5 | 43,0 | 0,0 |
Complete results and standings