Leon maintains his sole lead at 1st Vezerkepzo IM Round-Robin

by Shahid Ahmed - 02/02/2021

In case you are wondering what is India's 67th GM up to lately, we must tell you that he is back in his form. After having a difficult outing at Vergani Cup in Italy at the beginning of this year, Leon is back at the top, currently leading 1st Vezerkepzo IM Round-Robin tournament at Budapest, Hungary. With two rounds to go and performing at 2621, Leon is definitely the favorite to win the tournament. Check out some of the games Leon played in the tournament so far. Photo: Amruta Mokal

Leon is on the brink of another triumph

Brand Ambassador of Geno and Microsense, India's latest GM Leon Mendonca continues to play strong chess. After having an off Vergani Cup at the beginning of January in Italy, Leon is back at the top. Currently he is the sole leader with 6.5/7, performing at 2621 at 1st Vezerkepzo IM Round-Robin tournament.

Leon is back on track | Photo: Amruta Mokal

A great start

In the first round, Leon beat Tamas Lakatos with some sharp play.

Tamas - Leon, Round 1

Position after 26...Rg7

White might be ahead of the pawn but it is clear that black is the one who has full control and enough compensation for it. The game went on with 27.Rxg7+ and white lost the game in another nine moves. Find out what white could have done to stay afloat for a bit longer.

A great escape

Leon won the second round against Botond Palczert. Although there was a moment where Leon was in deep trouble.

Leon - Botond, Round 2

Position after 34.Re5

34.Re5 is a blunder. Find out why. Black was unable to spot it and he continued with 34...Rg6 and missed the opportunity.

Miscalculation

CM Elliott Papadiamandis made a miscalculation against Leon in the third round.

Elliott - Leon, Round 3

Position after 16.g4

16.g4 is an error on white's part. Why?

A model game

We often come across winning positions or with decisive advantage but then we have trouble figuring out - how to win it. Lasker's quote, "The hardest game to win is a won game" comes to mind. However Leon converted his advantage with ease against Almos Konyves.

Leon - Almos, Round 5

Position after 38...Nh7

Find out the correct plan for white after 38...Nh7

The costly pawn

In Round 6, FM Mark Lyell captured a pawn which was laced with poison. Leon managed to punish his opponent for the mistake and scored a victory.

Mark - Leon, Round 6

Position after 31.Nxf5

Find out why 31.Nxf5 is a big mistake and what white could have played instead.

Domination

Leon completely dominated FM Aron Pasti in Round 7 after the latter chose an inferior variation in the opening.

Leon - Aron, Round 7

Position after 26...Ndf6

Too many things are happening and multiple captures are possible after 26...Ndf6. Find out the winning continuation for white here.

Standings after Round 7

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	n	w-we	K	rtg+/-
1	7	IM	Mendonca Leon Luke	IND	2538	6,5	0,0	16,75	7	0,39	10	3,9
2	3	GM	Pacher Milan	SVK	2394	6,0	0,0	15,50	7	0,80	10	8,0
3	10	FM	Bodi Tibor	HUN	2384	4,5	0,0	12,00	7	-0,13	20	-2,6
4	1	FM	Pasti Aron	HUN	2198	4,0	0,0	10,50	7	1,11	20	22,2
5	2	IM	Farago Sandor	HUN	2193	3,5	0,5	11,00	7	0,31	10	3,1
6	6	CM	Papadiamandis Elliot	FRA	2134	3,5	0,5	10,50	7	0,92	40	36,8
7	9	FM	Lyell Mark	ENG	2198	3,0	0,0	5,00	7	-0,22	20	-4,4
8	5		Palczert Botond	HUN	2082	2,5	0,0	5,75	7	0,39	40	15,6
9	8		Konyves Almos	HUN	2131	1,0	0,0	2,00	7	-1,34	40	-53,6
10	4		Lakatos Tamas	HUN	2198	0,5	0,0	0,50	7	-2,23	40	-89,2