Lucky escape for Kateryna

The sixth and final classical match of the 18-game Amity Grandmasters Challenge series ended in a draw and the result keeps Ukraine’s Kateryna Lahno leading Parimarjan Negi 3.5-2.5.

The sixth and final classical match of the 18-game Amity Grandmasters Challenge series ended in a draw and the result keeps Ukraine’s Kateryna Lahno leading Parimarjan Negi 3.5-2.5.

Once again it was Parimarjan who was stronger through the match, but it was deja vu as he failed to take advantage of his better position to end with a fifth draw out of the six matches that have been played so far. Kateryna had won the second match of the series.

“Parimarjan had a very good chance to checkmate, but he didn’t finish the game. Kateryna’s opening was not very good, that did not put her in a very good position. Thereafter she improved; it was a fight to the finish, they were playing at the same level,” said Kateryna’s coach, Ruslan Scherbakov.

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“Now the format has changed, and even though Kateryna has played more of Rapid chess, it is very difficult to predict the result of any match,” he added.

Parimarjan admitted he failed to be decisive in the match. “I’m very happy with my game, but I am disappointed I couldn’t win it and level the score. I haven’t played a lot of Rapid, but I’m not too worried about that. All this will add to my experience,” he said. “I had a feeling there should be something decisive but I simply did not think about the forced winning sequence.”

Kateryna explained everything in just four words. “I was very lucky”, she said.

Sticking to her trusted Ruy Lopez, Kateryna was in a spot of bother early for the first time in the Arkhengelsk variation. Parimarjan went for the blood. Kateryna traded her light coloured bishop early for Parimarjan’s knight, and found herself in a tight spot. Pressure told on the leader, as she clearly missed Parimarjan intermezzo on the 19th turn as he crashed his bishop against a defending kingside pawn.

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Parimarjan took the upper hand, but by then Parimarjan was in time pressure and his attempt to finish the game in one-go did not yield dividends. As luck would have had it, Parimarjan missed a checkmate in six moves.

The series still has 12 games remaining — six in the Rapid format and six more in Blitz. The winner of the series will get a prize money of Rs 3 lakh, while the runner-up gets 2 lakh.