S Rohith Krishna aces 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023

by Shahid Ahmed - 11/06/2023

IM S Rohith Krishna drew his final round game against GM Aleksej Aleksandrov to win 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023. The teenager won his third consecutive tournament after winning 19th Malakoff Open 2023 in France and Ostravský Koník Open A in Czech Republic. He won a tournament each in April, May and now June. The boy from Tamil Nadu scored 9/11 and finished a full point ahead of the competition. Six players - GM Laxman R R, IM Raahul V S, GM Aleksej Aleksandrov, IM Viani Antonio Dcunha, IM Kushagra Mohan and IM Neelash Saha scored 8/11 each. They were placed second to seventh respectively according to tie-breaks. The two-time reigning National Under-17 Open champion, CM Mayank Chakraborty earned his maiden GM and IM-norms. Sanket Chakravarty secured his second IM-norm, while FM Goutham Krishna H earned his maiden IM-norm. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

A GM-norm and three IM-norms

The success of a GM tournament is measured in not how many people participated in the event, but the total number of norms scored in that event. One GM-norm and three IM-norms certainly speaks volumes about the tournament being successful. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹2500000. The top three prizes were ₹350000, ₹275000 and ₹200000 along with a trophy each. The 1st Maharashtra Chess Festival Below 1600 Rating Tournament prize distribution ceremony also took place on the same day. It will be mentioned in detail in a separate report.

Champion - IM S Rohith Krishna 9/11

S Rohith Krishna completes a hat-trick of tournament wins by dominating 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023

Runner-up - GM Laxman R R 8/11

"Mostly Yoga and Meditation helps more than your opening preparation" - GM Laxman R R

Second Runner-up - IM Raahul V S 8/11

I was able to boldly make decisions, even if it's a mistake, I liked to play my move - IM Raahul V S

Top three finishers (L to R) - 2nd GM Laxman R R, 1st IM S Rohith Krishna and 3rd IM Raahul V S

GM Aleksej Aleksandrov - IM S Rohith Krishna: 0.5-0.5

GM Laxman R R - IM Viani Antonio Dcunha: 0.5-0.5

Kushagra - Fedorov

Position after 17...Nf4?

GM Alexei Fedorov (2449) made a big mistake when he played 17...Nf4? to run interference in the queen-bishop battery. 18.Bxg7 Nxe2+ 19.Qxe2 Kxg7 20.Rxd6 bxc4 21.Rhd1 IM Kushagra Mohan (2412) converted his advantage into a win cleanly, without giving any chance to his opponent.

IM Kushagra Mohan scored a crushing victory over GM Alexei Fedorov

IM Raahul V S - IM Milosz Szpar (POL): 1-0

IM Neelash Saha defeated CM Mayank Chakraborty to finish seventh

Sanket - Savchenko

Position after 44..Qd1??

GM Boris Savchenko (2524) decided against going for perpetual check, on two different occasion and blundered 44...Qd1?? Find out the correct continuation for White. Sanket Chakravarty (2389) found it and went on to win the game. This win earned him his second IM-norm, crossed 2400 in the live ratings and also got him Best Game of Round 11 prize.

Sanket Chakravarty won a must-win final round game against the top seed - GM Boris Savchenko

FM Vedant Panesar - GM Viacheslav Zakhartsov: 0.5-0.5

GM Deep Sengupta tested Subhayan Kundu's correspondence squares and opposition knowledge in the pawn endgame. Subhayan showcased his knowledge of both quite well

FM Ritviz Parab defeated GM Evgeny Vorobiov to finish ninth, highest non IM/GM finisher of the event

IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete defeated GM Vitaly Teterev to finish eleventh

GM Manik Mikulas - Kaustuv Kundu: 0.5-0.5

FM Goutham Krishna H defeated IM David Gochelashvili to earn his maiden IM-norm

2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023 Arbiters' team

Back row (L to R) - FA Pornima Upalaavikar, FA Anish Ansari, FA Sumukh Sudhakar Gaikwad and FA Gopimohan M S.

Front row (L to R) - FA Mohit Ladhe, IA Swapnil Bansod, IA Ravichandran V, IA Vivek Sohani and FA Deepak Kumtakar.

Norm makers

Second IM-norm - Sanket Chakravarty 7.5/11

Sanket Chakravarty earns his second IM-norm by beating GM Boris Savchenko in a must-win game | Video: ChessBase India

First GM and IM-norm - CM Mayank Chakraborty 7/11

From 2141 to 2326 + IM and GM-norm in one tournament - 13-year-old Whizkid from Assam - CM Mayank Chakraborty | Video: ChessBase India

First IM-norm - FM Goutham Krishna H 6.5/11

Prize distribution ceremony photos

4th GM Aleksej Aleksandrov 8/11

5th IM Viani Antonio Dcunha 8/11

6th IM Kushagra Mohan 8/11

IM Kushagra Mohan wins a double at 10th Dhamso International Chess Festival 2023 in Sri Lanka | Video: ChessBase India

7th IM Neelash Saha 8/11

Honestly, if I were the judge, I wouldn't have given it the best game award - IM Neelash Saha | Video: ChessBase India

8th GM Luka Paichadze (GEO) 7.5/11

9th FM Ritviz Parab 7.5/11

FM Ritviz Parab is the highest non GM/IM finisher at 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023 | Video: ChessBase India

10th Sanket Chakravarty 7.5/11

Best Below 2400 1st - GM Manik Mikulas (SVK) 6.5/11

Best Below 2400 2nd - FM Sreyas Payyapat 6.5/11

Best Below 2400 3rd - Dhyey Agarwal 6/11

Best Below 2300 1st - FM Harshad S 6/11

Best Below 2300 2nd - Arpith S Bijoy 6/11

Best Below 2300 3rd - Koustuv Dash 6/11

Best Below 2200 1st - CM Aaditya Dhingra 6/11

Best Below 2200 2nd - Aniruddh Chatterjee 6/11

Best Below 2200 3rd - Kartavya Anadkat 6/11

Best Below 2100 1st - Ethan Vaz 6/11 | Photo: Edwin Vaz

Best Below 2100 2nd - Ankit Ray 6/11

Best Below 2100 3rd - CM John Veny Akkarakaran 6/11

Best Maharashtra 1st - Pushkar Dere 6.5/11

Best Maharashtra 2nd - IM Anup Deshmukh 6/11

Best Maharashtra 3rd - FM Nikhil Dixit 6/11

Best Female first - Mrittika Mallick 5.5/11

Best Female second - WIM Mrudul Dehankar 5/11

Best Female third - WIM Srishti Pandey 4.5/11

Best Emerging Player (Male and Female) - Apoorv Kamble 6.5/11 and WFM Diajeng Theresa Singgih (INA) 4/11

Game of the Round and Tournament

Game of the Round prize was ₹3000 for each round. Game of the Tournament prize was ₹10000.

Round 1 - FM Goutham Krishna H, win against GM Alexei Fedorov

Round 2 - GM Boris Savchenko, win against FM FT Niranjan Navalgund

Round 3 - Vivaan Vishal Shah, showcased his perseverance against the eventual champion, IM S Rohith Krishna

Round 4 - CM Rajesh Nayak, sharp win against GM Evgeny Vorobiov

Round 5 and Game of the Tournament - FM Vedant Panesar, 20-move crushing victory against the top seed, GM Boris Savchenko

Round 6 - GM Venkatesh M R, king hunt against Arnav Maheswari

Round 7 - IM S Rohith Krishna, win against the top seed GM Boris Savchenko to get into the lead

Round 8 - IM Neelash Saha, a sublime victory over FM Ritviz Parab

Round 9 - CM Mayank Chakraborty, win against GM Alexei Fedorov earned him his maiden GM and IM-norm

Round 10 - FM Ritviz Parab, roll of an outside passed pawn against GM Venkatesh M R

Round 11 - Sanket Chakravarty, winning a must-win game against GM Boris Savchenko to secure his second IM-norm and cross 2400 in the live ratings

DGT Echo helps seven-time AICFB National Champion Kishan Gangolli at 2nd Maharashtra GM Open 2023 | Video: ChessBase India

For more GM Round 11, Top 3 and Prize Distribution Ceremony photos, please click at the respective links. More interviews and game videos will be published soon, stay tuned.

Replay GM Open Round 11 games

Round 11 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	Club/City	No.	PGN
1	8	GM	Aleksandrov, Aleksej	2461	BLR	7½	½ - ½	8½	IM	Rohith, Krishna S	2411	TN	20	PGN
2	33	GM	Laxman, R.R.	2299	ICF	7½	½ - ½	7½	IM	Viani, Antonio Dcunha	2417	KAR	15	PGN
3	19	IM	Kushagra, Mohan	2412	TEL	7	1 - 0	7	GM	Fedorov, Alexei	2449	BLR	11	PGN
4	34	IM	Raahul, V S	2299	TN	7	1 - 0	7	IM	Szpar, Milosz	2447	POL	12	PGN
5	64	CM	Mayank, Chakraborty	2141	ASSM	7	0 - 1	7	IM	Neelash, Saha	2440	WB	13	PGN
6	21		Sanket, Chakravarty	2389	WB	6½	1 - 0	6½	GM	Savchenko, Boris	2524	RUS	1	PGN
7	22	FM	Panesar, Vedant	2387	MAH	6½	½ - ½	6½	GM	Zakhartsov, Viacheslav V.	2514	FID	2	PGN
8	59	CM	Nayak, Rajesh	2168	ODI	6½	0 - 1	6½	GM	Paichadze, Luka	2513	GEO	3	PGN
9	6	GM	Sengupta, Deep	2473	PSPB	6½	½ - ½	6½		Subhayan, Kundu	2353	WB	26	PGN
10	28	FM	Ritviz, Parab	2340	GOA	6½	1 - 0	6½	GM	Vorobiov, Evgeny E.	2454	RUS	9	PGN
11	14	IM	Sammed Jaykumar, Shete	2440	MAH	6½	1 - 0	6½	GM	Teterev, Vitaly	2344	BLR	27	PGN
12	16	GM	Mirzoev, Azer	2416	AZE	6½	1 - 0	6½	GM	Babujian, Levon	2373	ARM	23	PGN
13	18	IM	Mohammad, Nubairshah Shaikh	2415	MAH	6½	1 - 0	6½	FM	Ayush, Sharma	2312	MP	31	PGN
14	4	GM	Burmakin, Vladimir	2492	RUS	6	1 - 0	6	IM	Saravana, Krishnan P.	2255	KVB	39	PGN
15	10	IM	Nitish, Belurkar	2450	GOA	6	1 - 0	6	FM	Sharan, Rao	2248	KAR	41	PGN

Details

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5	Rp	K	rtg+/-
1	20	IM	Rohith, Krishna S				IND	2411	TN	9	67	70	56,25	0	7	2521	10	18,4
2	33	GM	Laxman, R.R.				IND	2299	ICF	8	71	76	53,75	0	5	2500	10	30
3	34	IM	Raahul, V S				IND	2299	TN	8	71	76	53,50	0	6	2528	10	34,1
4	8	GM	Aleksandrov, Aleksej				FID	2461	BLR	8	66	70,5	49,50	0	6	2407	10	-4,7
5	15	IM	Viani, Antonio Dcunha				IND	2417	KAR	8	64,5	69	48,75	0	5	2362	10	-5,2
6	19	IM	Kushagra, Mohan				IND	2412	TEL	8	64	66,5	46,50	0	6	2400	10	2,5
7	13	IM	Neelash, Saha				IND	2440	WB	8	63,5	67	47,00	0	6	2308	10	-10,9
8	3	GM	Paichadze, Luka				GEO	2513	GEO	7,5	70,5	73,5	46,00	0	5	2428	10	-8,5
9	28	FM	Ritviz, Parab				IND	2340	GOA	7,5	68,5	73,5	47,25	0	6	2407	20	28,6
10	21		Sanket, Chakravarty				IND	2389	WB	7,5	68,5	72,5	48,00	0	4	2432	20	21,8
11	14	IM	Sammed Jaykumar, Shete				IND	2440	MAH	7,5	65,5	69,5	45,25	0	6	2422	10	-0,4
12	18	IM	Mohammad, Nubairshah Shaikh				IND	2415	MAH	7,5	62	67	45,00	0	5	2220	10	-19,6
13	16	GM	Mirzoev, Azer				AZE	2416	AZE	7,5	58	61,5	39,75	0	5	2330	10	-6,9
14	64	CM	Mayank, Chakraborty				IND	2141	ASSM	7	74	77,5	46,75	0	5	2485	40	185,2
15	22	FM	Panesar, Vedant				IND	2387	MAH	7	71	76	45,00	0	5	2368	20	4,