Gelfand Challenge Day 1: Awonder Liang makes a perfect start 5.0/5

by Shahid Ahmed - 11/06/2021

Awonder Liang dominated the first day of the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour Gelfand Challenge. He won all five of his games and took sole lead 5.0/5. Abdusattorov is currently at sole second position 4.0/5. Praggnanandhaa, Nihal and Gukesh scored 3.0/5 and Leon made 2.5/5. Pragg had Liang on the ropes in the very first round but somehow he managed to escape his grasp. Both Pragg and Nihal lost against Abdusattorov. Gukesh suffered his sole loss against Yoo in the final round of the day. Round 6 continues today from 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Team Kramnik - Team Polgar: 24-26

GM Awonder Liang started the Gelfand Challenge with a perfect score of 5.0/5. The American had a shaky start against Praggnanandhaa in the first round but somehow managed to steer away from all danger and eventually scored a victory. He went on to win the next five games.

Liang made a fantastic start | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Round 1: Gukesh beat Abdumalik

Only Gukesh won against Abdumalik among Indian kids. Nihal, Leon and Praggnanandhaa lost their respective games.

Nihal - Abdusattorov: 0-1

Nihal had a very exciting sharp game against GM Nodirbek Abudsattorov. Despite being better for the majority of the game, a mistake in the endgame cost him dearly.

Position after 27.Bg3

White is completely better. What happens if black plays 27...Bxf5 28.gxf5 e3 ? It happened in the game and Nihal completely saw it through. Try to find it like him. It is a beautiful combination.

Position after 49...Nd6

White can still win this but with less time on the clock, it is not going to be easy. One of the way to continue was 50.Qf8+ Kc7 51.Qg7+ Kb8 52.h5. Nihal blundered the h-pawn and the knight in a few moves, eventually lost the game.

Leon - Sara: 0-1

Leon got into a cramped position against IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh.

Position after 34.Qa1

White's position does not look comfortable at all after 34.Qa1

Position after 36...g6

36...g6 gave white an opportunity to get back in the game. What is it? White blundered 37.g3 and Black finally gained exchange 37...Na2, eventually the game too.

Praggnanandhaa - Liang: 0-1

Praggnanandhaa got an early opportunity against GM Awonder Liang in the middlegame.

Position after 20...Qe7

Black erred by playing 20...Qe7 which created a small window of opportunity for white. What is it? Unfortunately white opted for the meek 21.Ng4.

Position after 22...Rfe8

White got another opportunity in the above diagram and he seized it by taking the knight 23.Rxe4. However the follow through did not yield much and eventually white decided to exchange queens. Find out the better continuation after 23...Qxe4. Eventually white misplayed the Rook and few pawns ending which cost him the game.

Abdumalik - Gukesh: 0-1

Zhansaya Abudmalik recently became Kazakhstan's latest GM, a day after winning the Gibraltar GP. So naturally she is in top form and Gukesh scoring a victory against her is definitely a good one.

Position after 33.Ra3

White went wrong in a seemingly equal endgame with 33.Ra3. Try to find out why it is a big mistake. Black capitalized on the mistake and converted it into a victory.

Round 2: Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Leon win

Round 2 turned out to be a good one as Gukesh, Pragg and Leon scored a victory each. Only Nihal was held to a draw by IM Carissa Yip.

Gukesh - Shuvalova: 1-0

Gukesh persevered through a difficult position against IM Polina Shuvalova and when his opponent made a mistake in the endgame, he took it.

Position after 53...Qa5

Black needed to avoid queen exchange. 53...Qd1 would have been a better continuation. White would be delighted to exchange queens in the above diagram with 54.Qe5+. The rest is academic which we are all sure Gukesh can convert without any difficulty.

Sara - Praggnanandhaa: 0-1

Praggnanandhaa scored a fine victory over Sara. However things were not always easy, Pragg could have been in deep trouble if his opponent spotted it at the right time.

Position after 18...Qb8

18...Qb8 was a positional mistake. Find out why. White missed it and continued the game 19.Ng3.

Position after 32...Bxc6

In the above diagram, which one should white capture first and why? White made an incorrect capture and lost the game in another five moves.

Murzin - Leon: 0-1

IM Volodar Murzin decided to give up his queen for two minor pieces but he never got enough compensation for it and Leon needed only 26 moves to win the game.

Nihal Sarin completely outplayed IM Carissa Yip.

Round 3: Nihal beat Keymer

Nihal and Pragg scored victories, Leon lost and Gukesh was held to a draw.

Nihal - Keymer: 1-0

Keymer made a questionable decision to do castling at a wrong time.

Position after 21...0-0-0

21...0-0-0 at a first glance may seem like black king is safer than white's but a closer inspection reveals the truth to be the opposite. Find out why it is a mistake and what Black should have done instead.

Position after 24...g3

Black's king is absolutely vulnerable in the above diagram. Find out how should white take advantage of it. It is well established that Nihal is extremely good at sharp positions and he had no trouble converting it into a victory.

Leon - Abdusattorov: 0-1

Leon had an absolutel roller-coaster of a game with Abdusattorov.

Position after 37...Kf8

In the above diagram, it is White who is better. The question is what should White do now? After both sides making plenty of mistakes, Abdusattorov capitalized on Leon's blunder and checkmated him. However the final position was completely winning for Leon had he not blundered the checkmate.

Praggnanandhaa - Murzin: 1-0

Praggnanandhaa scored a fine victory over Murzin.

Mammadzada - Gukesh: 0.5-0.5

Mammadzada held Gukesh to a well fought draw.

Round 4: Leon and Nihal score wins

Only Leon and Nihal scored victories, Gukesh was held to a draw and Pragg lost.

Gukesh - Saduakassova: 0.5-0.5

Gukesh had another grueling draw and made a good save as he was lost for the better part of the endgame.

Abdusattorov - Praggnanandhaa: 1-0

Praggnanandhaa went wrong in the endgame against Abdusattorov.

Position after 44...Be6

It was certainly not an easy endgame and 44...Be6 did not help Black's chances. 44...Rg4 would have kept the fight going.

Yip - Leon: 0-1

Leon scored a nice victory over IM Carissa Yip.

Nihal - Jiner: 1-0

Nihal made a short work of WGM Zhu Jiner in 26 moves after the latter made a tactical mistake.

Round 5: Leon drew with Nihal

Round-Robin tournament means everyone plays against all other opponents. In Round 5, Leon drew with Nihal, Praggnanandhaa won and Gukesh lost.

Leon - Nihal: 0.5-0.5

Leon and Nihal had an uneventful draw.

Praggnanandhaa - Yip: 1-0

Pragg scored an exemplary victory over Yip.

Position after 20...Rb8

It is evident that white has a huge positional advantage in the above diagram but how should white capitalize on it? Try to think like Pragg and find out the correct plan for white.

Praggnanandhaa inspired by Tigran Petrosian in the KID | Video: Sagar Shah

Yoo - Gukesh: 1-0

Yoo made a sacrifice which is not correct. Unfortunately for Gukesh, he could not capitalize on it.

Position after 22.Bxe4

22.Bxe4 does not work. Why? Gukesh got a few chances to equalize later but he missed them.

Replay Round 1-5 games

Replay the live stream

Gelfand Challenge Day 1 | Challengers Chess Tour Live Commentary | Video: ChessBase India

Round 1-5 results

Round 1 on 2021/06/10 at 15:00
Bo.	No.	Gr	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Gr	Rtg	No.
1	1	K	2430	IM	Yip Carissa	0 - 1	GM	Keymer Vincent	P	2591	20
2	2	P	2620	GM	Nihal Sarin	0 - 1	GM	Abdusattorov Nodirbek	K	2627	19
3	3	P	2459	WGM	Zhu Jiner	0 - 1	IM	Murzin Volodar	P	2478	18
4	4	K	2549	IM	Mendonca Leon Luke	0 - 1	IM	Khademalsharieh Sarasadat	P	2494	17
5	5	K	2608	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	0 - 1	GM	Liang Awonder	P	2592	16
6	6	K	2550	GM	Bjerre Jonas Buhl	½ - ½	IM	Salimova Nurgyul	K	2397	15
7	7	K	2505	GM	Lei Tingjie	1 - 0	IM	Badelka Olga	K	2433	14
8	8	P	2472	IM	Abdumalik Zhansaya	0 - 1	GM	Gukesh D	P	2578	13
9	9	P	2476	IM	Shuvalova Polina	0 - 1	IM	Yoo Christopher Woojin	K	2455	12
10	10	P	2443	IM	Mammadzada Gunay	0 - 1	IM	Saduakassova Dinara	K	2500	11
Round 2 on 2021/06/10 at 15:45
Bo.	No.	Gr	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Gr	Rtg	No.
1	20	P	2591	GM	Keymer Vincent	1 - 0	IM	Saduakassova Dinara	K	2500	11
2	12	K	2455	IM	Yoo Christopher Woojin	0 - 1	IM	Mammadzada Gunay	P	2443	10
3	13	P	2578	GM	Gukesh D	1 - 0	IM	Shuvalova Polina	P	2476	9
4	14	K	2433	IM	Badelka Olga	1 - 0	IM	Abdumalik Zhansaya	P	2472	8
5	15	K	2397	IM	Salimova Nurgyul	½ - ½	GM	Lei Tingjie	K	2505	7
6	16	P	2592	GM	Liang Awonder	1 - 0	GM	Bjerre Jonas Buhl	K	2550	6
7	17	P	2494	IM	Khademalsharieh Sarasadat	0 - 1	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	K	2608	5
8	18	P	2478	IM	Murzin Volodar	0 - 1	IM	Mendonca Leon Luke	K	2549	4
9	19	K	2627	GM	Abdusattorov Nodirbek	½ - ½	WGM	Zhu Jiner	P	2459	3
10	1	K	2430	IM	Yip Carissa	½ - ½	GM	Nihal Sarin	P	2620	2
Round 3 on 2021/06/10 at 16:30
Bo.	No.	Gr	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Gr	Rtg	No.
1	2	P	2620	GM	Nihal Sarin	1 - 0	GM	Keymer Vincent	P	2591	20
2	3	P	2459	WGM	Zhu Jiner	1 - 0	IM	Yip Carissa	K	2430	1
3	4	K	2549	IM	Mendonca Leon Luke	0 - 1	GM	Abdusattorov Nodirbek	K	2627	19
4	5	K	2608	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	1 - 0	IM	Murzin Volodar	P	2478	18
5	6	K	2550	GM	Bjerre Jonas Buhl	1 - 0	IM	Khademalsharieh Sarasadat	P	2494	17
6	7	K	2505	GM	Lei Tingjie	0 - 1	GM	Liang Awonder	P	2592	16
7	8	P	2472	IM	Abdumalik Zhansaya	1 - 0	IM	Salimova Nurgyul	K	2397	15
8	9	P	2476	IM	Shuvalova Polina	1 - 0	IM	Badelka Olga	K	2433	14
9	10	P	2443	IM	Mammadzada Gunay	½ - ½	GM	Gukesh D	P	2578	13
10	11	K	2500	IM	Saduakassova Dinara	½ - ½	IM	Yoo Christopher Woojin	K	2455	12
Round 4 on 2021/06/10 at 17:15
Bo.	No.	Gr	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Gr	Rtg	No.
1	20	P	2591	GM	Keymer Vincent	½ - ½	IM	Yoo Christopher Woojin	K	2455	12
2	13	P	2578	GM	Gukesh D	½ - ½	IM	Saduakassova Dinara	K	2500	11
3	14	K	2433	IM	Badelka Olga	0 - 1	IM	Mammadzada Gunay	P	2443	10
4	15	K	2397	IM	Salimova Nurgyul	1 - 0	IM	Shuvalova Polina	P	2476	9
5	16	P	2592	GM	Liang Awonder	1 - 0	IM	Abdumalik Zhansaya	P	2472	8
6	17	P	2494	IM	Khademalsharieh Sarasadat	½ - ½	GM	Lei Tingjie	K	2505	7
7	18	P	2478	IM	Murzin Volodar	1 - 0	GM	Bjerre Jonas Buhl	K	2550	6
8	19	K	2627	GM	Abdusattorov Nodirbek	1 - 0	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	K	2608	5
9	1	K	2430	IM	Yip Carissa	0 - 1	IM	Mendonca Leon Luke	K	2549	4
10	2	P	2620	GM	Nihal Sarin	1 - 0	WGM	Zhu Jiner	P	2459	3
Round 5 on 2021/06/10 at 18:00
Bo.	No.	Gr	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Gr	Rtg	No.
1	3	P	2459	WGM	Zhu Jiner	0 - 1	GM	Keymer Vincent	P	2591	20
2	4	K	2549	IM	Mendonca Leon Luke	½ - ½	GM	Nihal Sarin	P	2620	2
3	5	K	2608	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	1 - 0	IM	Yip Carissa	K	2430	1
4	6	K	2550	GM	Bjerre Jonas Buhl	½ - ½	GM	Abdusattorov Nodirbek	K	2627	19
5	7	K	2505	GM	Lei Tingjie	1 - 0	IM	Murzin Volodar	P	2478	18
6	8	P	2472	IM	Abdumalik Zhansaya	½ - ½	IM	Khademalsharieh Sarasadat	P	2494	17
7	9	P	2476	IM	Shuvalova Polina	0 - 1	GM	Liang Awonder	P	2592	16
8	10	P	2443	IM	Mammadzada Gunay	1 - 0	IM	Salimova Nurgyul	K	2397	15
9	11	K	2500	IM	Saduakassova Dinara	1 - 0	IM	Badelka Olga	K	2433	14
10	12	K	2455	IM	Yoo Christopher Woojin	1 - 0	GM	Gukesh D	P	2578	13

Standings after Round 5

Praggnanandhaa, Yoo and Abdusattorov share the lead | Photo: Champions Chess Tour

Schedule

Everyday game starts at 6:30 p.m. IST

Links

Official site

Chess-Results

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