Two share lead, Laxman right behind
GM Nguyen Duc Hoa (Vietnam) and Khusenkhojaev Muhammad (Tajikistan) led the table with 5.0 points after the fifth round in the 14th Chennai Open International Grandmaster Chess tournament 2023 for Sakthi Group Dr N Mahalingam trophy at Hotel Ambassador Pallava, Chennai here today. Sharing the lead with the GM duo at 4.5 points were eight players viz., Fedorov Alexei (Belarus), Srihari L R, Aakash G, Laxman R R , Pawar Harshit (all India), Elgabry Mohsen (Egypt), Manik Mikulas (Slovakia) and Ziatdinov Raset (USA).
Fresh from his victory in the “Athens of East ” Grandmaster tournament in Madurai, Vietnamese GM Nguyen Duc Hoa (Elo 2335) kept his form scoring a fine win over experienced Belgian GM Glek Igor (Elo 2429). In a Sicilian Rossolimo game, Nguyen played aggressively for a win right from the word go. His queenside assault in a rook and minor piece endgame fetched him a full point after 64 moves.
Talented former Under 9 National Champion Aakash G from Coimbatore broke through the defences of International Master Tologon Tegin Semetei of Kyrgyzstan in a marathon game that lasted 75 moves. The middle game shaped up from Slav defence appeared to be going equal when Semetei pressed for more. After a series of exchanges the game went into queen and minor piece ending where Aakash defended accurately to scalp the International Master from Kyrgyzstan.
This 10 round tournament carries a prize fund of Rs 20 lakhs with the winner picking up a cash award of Rs 4 lakhs along with a trophy. Five more exciting rounds are in store for chess lovers, as the event concludes by Sunday 7th January, 2023.
IM Saravana vs Muhammad
Round 5 results : (Indians unless specified) Manik, Mikulas (Slovakia) 4.5 drew with Fedorov, Alexei (Belarus) 4.5, Glek, Igor (Belgium) 4 lost to Nguyen, Duc Hoa (Vietnam) 5, Saravana, Krishnan P 4 lost to Khusenkhojaev, Muhammad 5 (Tajikistan), Matta Vinay Kumar (4) drew with Aronyak Ghosh (4), Srihari L R (4.5) bt Jaiswal Rupesh (3.5), Ziatdinov Raset (USA) 4.5 bt Ajay Karthikeyan (3.5), Tologon Tegin Semetei (Kyrgyzstan) 3.5 lost to Aakash G (4.5), Laxman R R (4.5) bt Gaikwad Manas (3.5), Pawar Harshit (4.5) bt Avinash Ramesh (3.5), Elgabry Mohsen (Egypt) 4.5 bt Balkishan A (3.5)
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