Himal Gusain clinches 9th Ciudad de Oviedo Open 2023

by Shahid Ahmed - 13/08/2023

IM Himal Gusain scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to win 9th Ciudad de Oviedo Open 2023. He finished a half point ahead of the field. Seven players - FM Stanislaw Zylka (POL), FM Jonas Prado Lobo (ESP), IM Vladyslav Larkin (UKR), IM Milosz Szpar (POL), FM Pablo Lopez Varela (ESP), GM Daniel H Campora (ARG) and GM Neelotpal Das scored 7/9 each. They were placed second to eighth according to tie-breaks. Neelotpal also remained undefeated. He was the only other Indian taking part in the event. He also made a top ten finish. The top three prizes were 1000€ + 1 year Chessable PRO Membership + 200€ Voucher for Chessable Courses, 800 € + 6 months Chessable PRO Membership and 600 € + 3 months Chessable PRO Membership. Photos: Official site

Himal's fourth tournament victory in 2023

Five players - FM Pablo Lopez Varela (ESP), FM Stanislaw Zylka (POL), IM Himal Gusain, Boris Cherkasov (KAZ) and IM Vladyslav Larkin (UKR) were at 6.5/8 each. Pablo drew against Zylka, Himal defeated Cherkasov and Larkin drew against IM Georgios Gkoumas (GER). Thus Himal became a clear champion 7.5/9. Zylka and Jonas were placed second and third respectively according to tie-breaks. This is Himal's fourth tournament triumph of the year, second consecutive in July after he won 14th Vaujany Open 2023 before this.

Champion - IM Himal Gusain 7.5/9

Runner-up - FM Stanislaw Zylka (POL) 7/9

Second Runner-up - FM Jonas Prado Lobo (ESP) 7/9

Himal - Pedro Antonio, Round 6

Position after 20.Qxe6!

IM Himal Gusain (2399) made an exciting queen sacrifice 20.Qxe6! White's position is so good that he can afford to sacrifice his queen as a minimum, he can always get it back which he did in the game. 20...fxe6 21.Nfg5+ Nf6 22.Nxe6+ Ke7 23.exf6+ gxf6 24.Nxd8 Bxe4 25.Nc6+ Bxc6 26.Rae1 White went on to win the game exploiting Black's weak king.

IM Himal Gusain in action

IM Himal Gusain scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 and finished a half point ahead of the field

8th GM Neelotpal Das 7/9

The tournament hall at Conference and Exhibitions Centre in Oviedo, Spain

Players in action

Trophies and certificates for the prize winners

A closer look at the champion's trophies

The venue with a beautiful architecture - Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos Ciudad de Oviedo | Photo: Visit Oviedo

A total of 203 players including 3 GMs, 15 IMs and a WGM took part from 19 countries across the world in this seven-day nine round Rating Open tournament. It was organized by Club de Ajedrez de Oviedo, Asturias at Conference and Exhibitions Centre in Oviedo, Spain from 24th to 30th July 2023. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.

Replay all available games

Final standings

Pos.	Ran.	Tit.	Name	Fed.	Pts.	Buc1	BucT	FIDE	Origin
1	9	IM	Gusain, Himal	IND	7.5	49.0	53.0	2399
2	7	FM	Zylka, Stanislaw	POL	7.0	51.0	54.0	2417
3	16	FM	Prado Lobo, Jonas	ESP	7.0	50.0	54.0	2359	Antonio Rico
4	3	IM	Larkin, Vladyslav	UKR	7.0	49.5	54.5	2461
5	6	IM	Szpar, Milosz	POL	7.0	49.0	53.5	2428
6	23	FM	Lopez Varela, Pablo	ESP	7.0	48.0	52.5	2300	Escola Luguesa
7	19	GM	Campora, Daniel H.	ARG	7.0	45.0	49.0	2333	Oromana
8	14	GM	Neelotpal, Das	IND	7.0	43.5	47.5	2362
9	4	IM	Gkoumas, Georgios	GRE	6.5	49.5	53.5	2454
10	24	FM	Van Dael, Siem	NED	6.5	49.5	53.5	2290	Escola Luguesa