Airports Authority of India Team
The Airports Authority team from India edged Astana 2.5-1.5 to grab solo lead with 4 match points after two rounds of the Asian Chess Club Champions League in Khanti-Mansiysk, Russia.
“Our team is demonstrating a high level of preparation. We start the tournament in third place and hope to finish in the top three. The tournament organization deserves praise: the playing venue is superbly prepared, everything is thought-out down to the smallest detail”, shared Sanket Chakravarty, an International Master representing the Airports Authority of India team.
Top seeds team CPRF and the youth team Ugra Chess Academy follow with 3 match points each.
Since the very beginning of the round the match between teams Ugra Chess Academy and CPRF was in the spotlight. The team from Moscow, which was taking leading position on the tournament table, could have got an undeniable advantage in competitions in case of winning the match. Daniil Dubov, resident of CPRF, and Arseniy Nesterov, representing Ugra Chess Academy, finished their game with a draw. Daniil has pointed out, that the result was predictable, because Arseniy haven’t been giving him any opportunity to beat himself since the game started. Savva Vetohin and Vladislav Artemyev, leader of the tournament rating, have finished their game in the same peaceful way.
“The game was tough from the very beginning. I was pretty surprised in the debut. Savva’s fourth move, g3, was unexpected. I was thinking for a long time, but in the end, I have got more or less acceptable position. At some point I was thinking that I stand a bit better, but there was too little time left on the clock, so I have decided to move firmly. Overall, it is a good and very reasonable result. The game was challenging”, Vladislav Artemyev have shared his emotions.
The result of the match between Pavel Ponkratov, CPRF resident, and Bogdan Perchinsky, young player from Khanty-Mansiysk, has drawn a big attention to the game. Bogdan couldn’t stand up to an experienced opponent and lost the round. The fate of a match was decided on the last couple of players: Rudik Makarian from the youth team and Maxim Matlakov from the Moscow club. Commenting on the end of a game, Vladislav Artemyev has highlighted the fact that both players have strong chances for a win. Rudik Makarian achieved victory in a tense fight. in the end, the teams have gotten to a draw in the overall team standings and shared the second row in the tournament table. It is worth mentioning that both teams have won over their opponents in the first round.
The Ugra team played their match against the team from Uzbekistan. Olga Girya of Ugra battled for victory for almost four hours against FIDE Master Akbarali Abdukhakimov. Olga Girya held the advantage from the very beginning of the game, but, as she herself admitted, got slightly distracted and let the moment slip. In the end, the game ended in a draw.
“Today’s game was full of twists because I had an excellent position right out of the opening. My opponent got into time trouble, and the fleeting minutes were not in his favor. I already thought I would win the game, but I myself started to blunder and got confused. There were even dangerous moments, but in the end, we reached a draw”, shared Olga Girya, recounting her impressions.
The overall team victory for Ugra was achieved by Nikolay Kabanov and Ilya Ilyushenok, who defeated their opponents. The youngest member of the team, Dinis Sattarov, played a draw in this round.
Another victory was achieved today by the club from China who proved to be stronger than the players from Mongolia. There are still five rounds to go, and the intrigue of who will become the tournament winner remains.
The holding of the Asian Club League in Khanty-Mansiysk has become a significant event for the chess community. This was stated by Alexander Tkachev, Executive Director of the Russian Chess Federation.
Mikhail Degtyarev, who holds the position of Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation and President of the Russian Olympic Committee, sent his congratulations to the participants and organizers of the tournament.
“I am confident that the matches will be interesting and the victories will be spectacular. The tournament being hosted in Khanty-Mansiysk will serve to further the development of chess and strengthen international cooperation. I wish everyone unforgettable impressions and new achievements, as well as faith, hope, and love! After all, love for sports is what unites us!” — emphasized Mikhail Degtyarev in his letter.
Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and standings. Follow live broadcast on Lichess.
You can follow the tournament in the official community of the Ugra Chess Academy on the social network ‘VKontakte’ (https://vk.com/chessugra). The tournament is being commented on by international grandmaster Sergey Shipov.
Source: Ugra Chess Academy