GM Wang Yue (2716) registered yet another victory, this time over IM Wang Chen (2521) to move a point clear of second placed GM Ni Hua (2703).
The remaining games were drawn with GM Krishnan Sasikiran (2640) of India holding the top seed GM Ding Liren (2749).
Check the pairings for Round 8 here.
A swift victory by Vaishali R over Michelle Catherina in the 9th round of the RamRatna 42nd National Women Challengers 2015 saw the former regain her sole lead with a tally of 8/9. Vaishali emerged a pawn up out of the opening and never really allowed Michelle to get back in the game. Michelle resigned on move 41, thus marking Vaishali’s 8th full-point of the tournament.
Meanwhile, the top-board game between Bhakti Kulkarni and Tania Sachdev turned out to be a rather long draw with 88 moves being played. This draw has pushed Tania back to the second spot whilst Bhakti Kulkarni and Soumya Swaminathan are ranked joint-3rd.
Results of Round 9: Click Here
Serbian GM Branko Damljanovic (2565) entered into sole lead with a win over GM Dragan Kosic (2487), moving to 6.0/7.
India’s IM N. Srinath (2464) won his seventh round game to move to 5.0/7 meanwhile Md. Nubairshah Shaikh (2423) drew his game to move to 4.5/7.
Check the Round 8 pairings here.
After 9 rounds of gruelling chess at the World Open 2015, as many as 8 (!) Grandmasters tied for the 1st-8th spots in the final rankings with 7 points apiece. However, GM Alex Lendermann secured the sole first rank as he won the Tie-breaks after overcoming GM Rauf Mamedov in an Armageddon game.
Meanwhile, John Michael Burke of USA, rated 2258, recorded an amazing performance as he finished tied for the 9th-17th spots along with several strong Grandmasters.
Amongst Indians, GM Panchanathan and GM-elect Ashwin Jayaram turned out to be the best performers with 6 points each and a tie for 18th-34th places.
Final Rankings: Click Here
A Caruana-like start by Vaishali R at the RamRatna 42nd National Challengers Chess Championship was brought to a halt by top-seed Tania Sachdev as the latter won a convincing game against the overnight leader with a nice tactical blow on move 33. With this win, Tania has joined Vaishali at the top of the rankings with 7 points apiece.
In other top games, Bhakti Kulkarni overcame Rucha Pujari while Michelle Catherina won against Ivana Maria Furtado. With these wins, Bhakti and Michelle have taken up the joint second spot with 6.5 points each.
Round 8 Results: Click Here
Four players shared the lead with 5.0/6 at the International Championship of Central Serbia, 2015. Erstwhile leader GM Nikola Sedlak could only draw his last two games to allow others to join him.
IM N. Srinath (2464) slumped to a loss due to which he remains stranded at 4.0/6. He is joined at the same score by Md. Nubairshah Shaikh (2423) who won his sixth round game.
Check the Round 7 pairings here.
Tamil Nadu youngster Vaishali R continued her unchallenged dominance at the RamRatna 42nd National Challengers Chess Championship as she overcame Saranya J in a fine attacking game with the White pieces. Vaishali dramatically sacrificed a knight on move 14 with the idea of exposing her opponent’s King in the centre, and after that, there was no looking back. Saranya resigned on the 23rd move. With this win, Vaishali has notched up an exhilarating ‘Caruana-like’ start with 7 points in as many games.
Meanwhile, on the 2nd board, top seed Tania Sachdev won a convincing game with the White pieces in the Main Line of Slav Defence. Tania is now ranked a sole second, one point behind Vaishali.
The top-board game in Round 8 promises to be a crucial one as Vaishali R, playing black, will take on Tania Sachdev. A draw or win for Vaishali will keep her comfortably placed ahead of the rest of the field. However, a victory for Tania will leave the field wide open.
Round 7 Results: Click Here
GM Wang Yue (2716) beat the highest rated Chinese GM Ding Liren (2749) with the white pieces to grab pole position with 4.0/5.
GM Ni Hua (2703) put it across GM Lu Shanglei (2595) with the black pieces to stand at second position with 3.5/5. India’s GM Krishnan Sasikiran (2640) meanwhile drew with GM Wei Yi (2724) to move to 1.5/5.
Check the pairings for Round 6 here.
Serbian GM Nikola Sedlak (2537) took sole lead after the end of the 4th round with a perfect score of 4.0/4.
India’s IM N. Srinath (2464) could only draw with GM Suat Atalik (2564) with the white pieces to stay in the hunt with 3.5/4. Untitled Indian Md. Nubairshah Shaikh (2423) meanwhile continued with his solid performance with another draw to stand at 2.5/4.
Check the pairings for Round 5 here.
The 6th round of the 42nd Indian Women Challengers Chess Championship saw Vaishali R retain her perfect score as she overcame IM Nisha Mohota with the black pieces. After a rather strange opening, the chances looked evenly balanced. However, in the middlegame, Vaishali got a strong attack going on the King side which ultimately resulted in a swift victory for the Tamil Nadu player.
Meanwhile, the 2nd-board game between Nimmy A. G. and Michelle Catherina ended in peace while top seed Tania Sachdev scored a victory over Priyanka K on the 3rd board.
After 6 rounds, Vaishali R leads the pack with a fantastic tally of 6/6, followed by 5 players on 5/6.
Round 6 Results: Click Here