Shubham Kumthekar

EnterCard Chess Qualifier 03: Hammer, Fressinet in lead

The third round of the EnterCard Scandinavian Masters Chess Qualifier 2015 saw GMs Hammer and Fressinet score full points as they beat GMs Agdestein and Curt Hansen respectively. The 3rd game of the day – Grandelius vs Tari – finished in a draw, although it was nothing short of interesting.

Rankings after Round 3:

Rank	Player	Points
1	GM Fressinet, Laurent	2.5
	GM Hammer, Jon Ludvig	2.5
3	GM Grandelius, Nils	2
4	GM Agdestein, Simen	1
	IM Tari, Aryan	1
6	GM Hansen, Curt	0

The winner of this tournament will qualify for the super-tournament ‘Norway Chess 2015’.

EnterCard Chess Qualifier Round 2: 3 players in lead

Lone Winner of Round 2: GM Nils Grandelius. (Pic Source: http://www.sjakkbloggen.no/)

The second round of the EnterCard Scandinavian Masters Chess Tournament saw only one decisive game as GM Nils Grandelius overcame GM Curt Hansen with the black pieces. Although the game was about equal out of the opening, Hansen went astray in the later part of the Middlegame. Grandelius, thus, secured a nice advantage, which he duly converted. This was Hansen’s second consecutive loss.

In the encounter between the 2 overnight leaders, GM Hammer and GM Fressinet split points and maintained their top position. The remaining game – IM Tari vs GM Agdestein – also ended in a draw, albeit an interesting one.

After 2 rounds, GMs Hammer, Fressinet and Grandelius lead the pack with 1.5/2. The winner of this tournament will qualify for the super tournament ‘Norway Chess 2015’.

EnterCard Chess Qualifier 01: Fressinet, Hammer start with a win

The two victors of Round 1: GM Hammer (L) and GM Fressinet (R). (Pic Source: http://www.sjakkbloggen.no/) — The two victors of Round 1: GM Hammer (L) and GM Fressinet (R).
(Pic Source: http://www.sjakkbloggen.no/)

The opening round of the EnterCard Chess Qualifier 2015 was nothing short of exciting with 2 games ending decisively and the 3rd game proving to be an interesting draw. GM Fressinet and GM Jon Ludvig Hammer commenced their campaign in this 5 round tournament with victories over IM Tari and GM Curt Hansen respectively and as a result, took the lead after Round 1.

Meanwhile, the Agdestein vs Grandelius encounter turned out to be dramatic with the advantage changing hands quite often. Although the ending was slightly better for Grandelius, he was unsuccessful in nurturing this advantage. The game, thus, ended in a draw.

Russian Team Chess Final: Siberia, Our Heritage clinch titles!

Open Section:

With an easy 4.5-1.5 victory over ‘Yamal’, the Siberian team won the Russian Team Chess Championship 2015 in a dominating fashion as they notched up a perfect score of 14 Match-Points, 3 match-points ahead of its nearest rival ‘University’. The ‘Bronze Horsemen’ team finished a couple of match-points behind ‘University’ to secure the third place in this super-strong team tournament.

Final Rankings: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr171712.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=7&wi=821

Women’s Section:

In an interesting turn of events, ‘SDYSSHOR SHSH’, who were leading the pack for most of the time in this tournament, could only finish second as they were held to a surprise 2-2 draw in the last round by ‘Donchanka’ while ‘SHSM – Our Heritage’ grabbed their opportunity as they clinched the title with a convincing 3.5-0.5 victory against ‘University’. Yugra, meanwhile, finished third.

Final Rankings: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr171723.aspx?lan=1&art=63&wi=821

Russian Team Chess 06: Siberia still on top!

Open Section:

A convincing 4.5-1.5 victory over ‘Rook’ saw the overnight leader ‘Siberia’ maintain its lead ahead of the last round at the Russian Team Chess Championship 2015.

Meanwhile, team ‘University’ continued its chase for the top spot with a comfortable 4.5-1.5 win over ‘Yamal’ whilst ‘Bronze Horsemen’ is on the 3rd spot going into the final round.

Full Round 6 Results (Team Names in Russian) : http://www.chess-results.com/tnr171712.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=6&wi=821

Women’s Section:

The race for the First Place, however, is much more intense in the Women’s section. Although ‘SDYUSSHOR SHSH’ retained its top spot with a nice 3-1 win against ‘Rook’ and a total of 10 match-points, ‘SHSM – Our Heritage’ is right on its heels with 9 Match-Points while a couple more teams are just a point behind ‘SHSM’.

Full Round 6 Results (Team Names in Russian) : http://www.chess-results.com/tnr171723.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=6&wi=821

Russian Team Chess 05: Siberia in sole lead!

The University (L) vs Siberia (R) match-up in progress. Siberia won 4-2. (Pic Source: http://www.ruchess.ru/)

Open Section:

With a convincing 4-2 victory against overnight co-leaders ‘University’ in Round 5, ‘Siberia’ took up the sole lead after 5 rounds of the Russian Team Chess Championship 2015. GMs Aronian and Jakovenko played a crucial role in Siberia’s victory as they defeated GMs Andreikin and Jobava respectively.

In another clash of two giants, ‘Malachite’ overcame ‘Bronze Horsemen’ 3.5-2.5, thanks to experienced GM Bologan’s decisive win over GM Fedoseev.

Complete Round 5 Results (Team Names in Russian): http://www.chess-results.com/tnr171712.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=5&wi=821

Women’s Section:

Team ‘Boavista’ caught up overnight leaders ‘SDYUSSHOR SHSH’ as the former team scored a crucial win against ‘University’ while ‘SDYUSSHOR SHSH’ drew a strong ‘Ugra’ team.

In the ‘Boavista’ vs ‘University’ encounter, IM Vasilevich and WIM Drozdova notched up wins to lead their team to an all-important 3-1 victory. WIM Drozdova has been the star for ‘Boavista’ so far with wins in each of the five rounds and a rating performance of 2920!

Complete Round 5 Results (Team Names in Russian): http://www.chess-results.com/tnr171723.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=5&wi=821

Russian Team Chess Round 4: Comfortable Victories

Open Section:

The 4th round of the Russian Team Chess Championship 2015 proved to be a round of smooth sailing for the winning teams. ‘Siberia’ vs ‘SHSM – Our Heritage’, potentially the toughest match of the day, featured the biggest margin of result in round 4 with the former team easily clinching the match 4.5-1.5. GMs Kramnik, Jakovenko and Kokarev scored the full points for Siberia.

In another clash of the big guns, the ‘University’ team continued it’s fine form with a comfortable 4-2 win against ‘Lada’. GMs Rublevsky and Aleksandrov starred for ‘University’ with wins over GMs Frolyanov and Jakov Geller respectively while the remaining games ended in peace.

After 4 rounds, ‘University’ and ‘Siberia’ lead the table with 8 match-points each. These two teams will lock horns in an all important fixture in round 5.

Complete Round 4 Results (Team Names in Russian) : http://chess-results.com/tnr171712.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=4&wi=821

Women’s Section:

In the central match of the day, ‘SDYUSSHOR SHSH’ overcame ‘University’ with a comfortable 3-1 scoreline. IM Bodnaruk and WIM Balaian scored the full points for SDYUSSHOR with victories over FM Pustovoitova and WIM Baraeva respectively.

Another important match – Boavista vs SHSM Our Heritage – witnessed an inspired performance from the former team as they held the rating favorites ‘SHSM’ to a 2-2 draw. It was WIM Drozdova’s upset victory against IM Kashlinskaya that led ‘Boavista’ towards a crucial draw.

After 4 rounds, ‘SDYUSSHOR SHSH’ leads the pack with 7 match-points while ‘Boavista’ is close on the former’s heels with 6 match-points.

Complete Round 4 Results (Team Names in Russian) : http://chess-results.com/tnr171723.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=4&wi=821

Italian Team Chess Final: ‘O. R. Padova’ and ‘Circolo Scacchi’ triumph!

Open Section:

With an overwhelming 3.5-0.5 win over 3rd seeds ‘A.S.D. Circolo Scacchi’, top seeds ‘Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova’ clinched the CIS Master Italian Team Championship 2015 ahead of ‘WorldTradingLab Club 64 Modena’, thanks to their superior Board Points.

In the A.S.D. Circolo Scacchi vs Padova encounter, only GM Axel Rombaldoni managed to salvage half a point for the former team, while Padova rocked the remaining boards with GM Nakamura, GM Dvirnyy and GM Mogranzini winning their respective games. However, for ‘WorldTradingLab Club 64 Modena’, the win didn’t come as easily, with the ‘Banca Nuova Palermo’ players putting up a great fight. It was IM D’Amore’s victory against FM Ramondino that clinched the match for ‘WorldTradingLab’ with a 2.5-1.5 scoreline.

Final Standings: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr166264.aspx?lan=1&art=0&rd=7&wi=821

Women’s Section:

In the women’s section, ‘A.S.D. Circolo Scacchi’ won all their matches and clinched the title with a perfect score of 8 Match-Points. ‘A.S.D. Cielo D’Alcamo Scacchi’ secured the second place with a crucial 2.5-0.5 victory against ‘S.S. Lazio Scacchi’ in the last round while ‘S.S. Lazio Scacchi’ could only finish third despite having a great start to the tournament.

Final Standings: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr166271.aspx?lan=1&art=0&wi=821

Russian Team Chess Round 3: Close Battles!

Open Section:

The third round of the Russian Team Chess Championship 2015 proved to be a close affair with as many as 3 matches ending with a 3.5-2.5 scoreline and the ‘Yamal’ vs ‘Rook’ match finishing in a 3-3 draw.

The match between ‘Lada’ and ‘Siberia’ turned out to be closer than expected with Lada going down with the narrowest of margins. Untitled Alexander Predke (2533) of ‘Lada’ made a real feast of this match with a nice victory over 2700+ GM Anton Korobov. However, with Jakovenko and Bocharov winning their respective games for Siberia and the rest of the games ending in draws, Siberia overcame Lada 3.5-2.5.

In the remaining ‘heavyweight’ matches, ‘University’ defeated ‘Malachite’ 3.5-2.5 while ‘Bronze Horsemen’ came out on top against ‘SHSM – Our Heritage’ with the same scores.

After 3 rounds, ‘University’ and ‘Siberia’ lead the pack with a total of 6 match-points each.

Women’s Section:

The central battle of Round 3 in the Women’s Section – ‘Boavista’ vs ‘SDYUSSHOR SHSH’ – finished in a fighting 2-2 draw with all the games turning out to be decisive. The ‘University’ team took full advantage of this draw as they overcame ‘Grozny’ and joined Boavista and SDYUSSHOR at the top of the table.

Meanwhile, the clash of the titans ‘Ugra’ vs ‘SHSM – Our Heritage’ ended in a comfortable 3-1 victory for the latter. GM Gunina and IM Kovalevskaya scored two important points for ‘SHSM’ with wins over WGM Pogonina and IM Guseva respectively.

Russian Team Chess 02: University and Siberia in early lead

Open Section

After 2 rounds of the Russian Team Chess Championship 2015, 2 teams – University and Siberia – lead the rest with 4 match-points each.

The Siberian Team, spearheaded by GM Kramnik, scored an important 3.5-2.5 victory over the strong Bronze Horseman team. With rest of the games ending in draws, GM Kramnik’s win over GM Svidler proved to be decisive. The team ‘University’, on the other hand, had a relatively easy sailing as they beat ‘Rook’ with a 4-2 scoreline.

Meanwhile, the ‘Yamal’ team, with only 1 GM in their line-up, impressed one and all with their performance despite going down 2.5-3.5 against ‘SHSM – Our Heritage’. Although Yamal were hugely out-rated on each of the boards, they only lost by the narrowest of margins. In the remaining match, ‘Malachite’ routed ‘Lada’ 4-2.

Complete Round 2 Results (Team names in Russian) : http://chess-results.com/tnr171712.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=2&wi=821

Women’s Section:

With a surprise victory over ‘SHSM – Our Heritage’ in the second round, ‘SDYUSSHOR SHSH’ took up the early joint-lead along with ‘Boavista’. SDYUSSHOR won their match 2.5-1.5, courtesy of important victories by IM Bodnaruk and WIM Balain over GM Kosteniuk and IM Kashlinskaya respectively.

Complete Round 2 Results (Team names in Russian) : http://chess-results.com/tnr171723.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=2&wi=821