Day to analyse the wrong moves

Guntur, April 10: It was a welcome rest for the players, who have been focussing hard during the last week in the Chalapathi International...

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Guntur, April 10: It was a welcome rest for the players, who have been focussing hard during the last week in the Chalapathi International Grandmasters Chess Tournament.

Some players preferred the solitude of rooms while some visited Amaravati (50 kms), known for its temple and Krishna river. A day’s rest might put things in the right perspective for players, who would want to know what went wrong and refocus their energy in the remaining rounds.

Chanda outstanding: Among the Indians, the first phase of the tournament belonged to Bengal boy Sandipan Chanda, who continues to grow with every outing. He has proved it here that his brilliant Goodricke showing, earning a GM Norm was not a one-off thing. His tactical acumen has earned praise from most of the players in the event. Except for one bad game with Russian GM Ildar Ibragimov, his showing has been brilliant.

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Another facet of his game which seems to have evolved in the last one year is his ability to create many obstacles for his opponent in inferior position. Russian GM Alexander Fominyh, who grinds the opponents, praised Chanda’s fighting spirit after he wriggled out from an inferior position against him. He requires 4.5 out of six to make a GM norm here which is difficult but not impossible.

Dibyendu Barua messed up an advantageous position with Leonid Yurtaev and bungled in time pressure against Chanda which would have given him a better score than his four points. Krishnan Sasikiran is getting back to his best after trying an opening with which his practical experience is nil, backfired against Andrey Shariazdanov in the first round.

Thipsay, Kunte disappoint: GM Pravin Thipsay and GM-elect Abhijit Kunte’s performance so far has been uninspiring. Kunte played one good game with Yurtaev while Thipsay’s perennial time trouble problem compounded with poor play has resulted in his forgettable showing.

V Saravanan and GB Prakash, who are playing in a closed GM event for the first time, were eager to play such events. Saravanan, who had two good victories over PM Thipsay and Ziaur Rahman, looks for more tournaments like this and feels his game will improve because of that. Prakash is satisfied with his game despite two losses which included a comfortable draw with top seed Shariyazdanov.

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Barring his game with Prasad on Sunday, Shariyazdanov’s class was visible in his swift execution of Sasikiran, Ziaur Rahman and Saravanan. He looks to be a strong contender for the title. The other Russians Alexander Fominyh and Ildar Ibragimov have been effective without showing anything special.

Kyrgysztan GM Yurtaev’s adventurous play combined with his feel for the initiative and not caring much about the pawns would have won a few admirers. DV Prasad, who had a chance for completing the GM title, never really got started, getting bogged down by draws. Humpy has fought boldy and solidly without showing any fear for the opposition.

She has made everybody work for the point and has a bright future ahead. Bangladeshi International Master Ziaur Rahman is probably having the worst tournament of his life. He is capable of doing much better but unfortunately things have not gone his way with blunders and mistakes occurring often. Of course, he has fought every game despite poor form.

If Barua can get he better of Shariyazdanov tomorrow, the race for title will become more exciting.

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Prasad loses in 80 moves: Leonid Yurtaev of Kyrgysztan offered a draw before the start of their postponed first round encounter on Monday. However, Devaki Prasad was in a fighting mood and spurned the draw offer only to lose in 80 moves after battling it out for close to seven hours.

Prasad probably upset with himself for squandering a winning position on Sunday against top seed Andrey Shariyazdanov came up with the intention of giving his best. Yurtaev thwarted Prasad’s winning notions as early as 17th move equalising easily from the Modern defence.

His knight blockaded the isolated D pawn and his position looked slightly better. Prasad overlooked a simple tactic by going for 42 Rc2 which loses a pawn after three moves.

The International Master thought that his position was defendable with only Queens on the board. Yurtaev was in no hurry and made moves which allowed him to control the position without giving his opponent a sniff of a chance for escaping.

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Prasad was stopping Yurtaev’s `a’ passer since it was the key to his survival. Yurtaev made the preparatory moves and pushed his pawn to a3 and advanced his King to b4 and threatened to Queen. And, Prasad resigned on the 80th move. Anyway, he gave his best and Yurtaev’s technique was par for the course.

Points position after seven rounds: 1. Shariyazdanov (Rus) 5.5, 2. Fominyh (Rus) 5, 3-4: Yurtaev (KGZ), Sandipan Chanda (Ind) 4.5, 5-7: Ibragimov (Rus), Barua & Sasikran (Ind) 4, 8. Saravanan (Ind) 3.5, 9. Abhijit Kunte (Ind) 3, 10-12: Thipsay, Prasad & Prakash (Ind) 2.5, 13. Humpy (Ind) 2, 14. Ziaur Rahman (Ban) 1.5.

Eighth round pairings: Yurtaev vs Saravanan, Fominyh vs Prakash, Ibragimov vs Ziaur Rahman, Barua vs Shariyazdanov, Humpy vs Thipsay, Prasad vs Sasikiran, Abhijit Kunte vs Sandipan Chanda.