Tag: NationalChallengers2015

A crucial victory by IM Swapnil Dhopade over IM Thejkumar in the Final Round of the National Challengers Chess Championship 2015 helped the former to clinch the title in this 13-round qualifying event. After suffering a shock loss against Lokesh N. in the 2nd Round, Swapnil made a fantastic comeback in the tournament and further went on to secure the sole first spot with a total of 10 points.

Meanwhile, as many as 10 players tied for the second place with 9.5 points each.

A total of 12 players qualified for the National Premier Chess Championship to be held later this year. The selected players:

Rank	Players	Points
1	IM Swapnil Dhopade	10
2	FM Praneeth Surya	9.5
3	GM Murali Karthikeyan	9.5
4	GM Neelotpal Das	9.5
5	GM M. R. Venkatesh	9.5
6	GM Shyam Sundar	9.5
7	IM Rathnakaran K	9.5
8	IM Karthikeyan P	9.5
9	GM Abhijit Kunte	9.5
10	IM Shyam Nikhil	9.5
11	IM Arghyadip Das	9.5
12	GM Deep Sengupta	9

The 10th Round of the National Challengers Chess Championship saw the lead change hands as IM Swapnil Dhopade scored a crucial victory over overnight leader GM Karthikeyan to move in to the sole lead with 8 points.

In the Karthikeyan-Swapnil encounter, the latter wheeled out the Caro-Kann Defence in reply to Karthikeyan’s 1.e4. However, Karthikeyan’s handling of the opening left much to be desired which allowed Swapnil to secure a better position right out of the opening, despite playing the black pieces. Although the game went on for a total of 60 moves, Swapnil was always in control of the matters and in the end, registered a clean victory over his higher-rated opponent.

Meanwhile, as many as 13 players are trailing Swapnil with a margin of just half a point. With 3 more rounds to go, a huge number of players are still in with a chance of clinching the title.

Round 10 Results: Here

The 9th round of the National Challengers Chess Championship 2015 finally saw a sole leader coming through as GM Murali Karthikeyan moved on to 7/9 by overcoming IM Anurag Mhamal on the First board. In other top games, GMs Laxman and Neelotpal drew their personal encounter while GM Kunte scored a crucial victory over top-seeded GM Sengupta.

The 10th round of the tournament will witness GM Karthikeyan, the leader, taking on IM Swapnil Dhopade, who is on the joint-second spot along with 7 others. With 4 more rounds to go, the field is still pretty wide open.

Round 9 Results: Here

The 8th Round of the National Challengers Chess Championship 2015 witnessed draws on both of the top two boards. However, in other important games, GM Neelotpal Das and IM Anurag Mhamal scored crucial wins. The duo overcame IM Stany and GM Shyam Sundar respectively.

After 8 Rounds of this 13-round event, 5 players – namely IM Mhamal and GMs Karthikeyan, Sengupta, Laxman & Neelotpal – are leading the pack with 6.5 points each. Meanwhile, a massive 18 participants are currently tied for the 2nd spot with 6 points each.

Round 8 Results: Here

The 7th round of the National Challengers Chess Championship 2015 saw the top-board game between the leaders – GMs Laxman and Karthikeyan – end in a draw. This result allowed GM Sengupta to catch up with the aforementioned duo by scoring a victory over IM Ramnath Bhuvanesh.

After 7 rounds, the trio of Laxman, Karthikeyan and Sengupta is currently leading the pack with 6 points each followed by as many as 12 players on 5.5/6.

Round 7 Results: Here

At the end of four rounds of the National Challengers Chess Championship 2015, a total of four players – including IM Himanshu Sharma and GMs Sengupta, Laxman and Shyam Sundar – are leading the pack with a perfect score of 4/4. The aforementioned players overcame Lokesh N, Harsha Bharathakoti, IM Sameer Kathmale and IM Rahul Sangma respectively in the fourth round of this 13-round event.

Meanwhile, as many as 14 players are currently placed joint-second with a score of 3.5/4.

Round 4 Results: Here