Nineteen-year-old Grandmaster Bardiya Daneshvar of Iran and Grandmaster Murali Karthikeyan of India, 26, beat their respective 5th round opponents to share the lead with 4.5 points each at the halfway mark of the Asian Individual Chess Championship at the Danat Resort Hotel in Al Ain, UAE.
Daneshvar (left) used the London System to beat GM Pa Iniyan of India (right) in 35 moves.
Karthikeyan (left) essayed the Four Knights Game to beat GM Aleksey Grebnev (right) in 49 moves of a King and pawn endgame.
Five players follow with 4 points each, namely GM M. Pranesh of India, Chinese FM Yang Zilong and untitled Jiang Haochen and GMs Sergei Lobanov and Ivan Zemlyanskii, both playing under the neutral FIDE flag.
Daneshvar and Karthikeyan face each other in the 6th round. The tournament is a 9-round Swiss System with rounds starting 3pm daily. The event is organized by the Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation and FIDE.
Games are broadcast live on www.chess.com and https://lichess.org/ and https://live.chessbase.com/.
Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and standings and to download games.
The top ten men shall qualify into the FIDE World Cup scheduled October this year.. At stake are a total of $80,000 in cash prizes.
Guess the Sacrifice
In the following round 5 game between Chinese compatriots Jiang Haochen as White and GM Xu Xiangyu as Black, guess the sacrifice after 26…Rfc8? Answer at end of this story.
In the following rd5 game between GM M. Pranesh of India as White and FM Imangali Akhilbay of Kazakhstan, guess White’s sacrifice after 22…Nc6?
In the following game between IM Zhao Yuanhe as White and GM Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan as Black, guess Black’s sacrifice after 21.Bxg4
3-way Tie for Lead in Women’s Division
In the women’s division, three players share the lead with 4.5 points after five rounds, namely Woman Grandmaster Seshadri Srija of India, Bat-Erdene Mungunzul of Mongolia and IM Anastasia Bodnaruk, playing under the FIDE flag.
Srija crushed the Caro Kann defense of WGM Xeniya Balabayev of Kazakhstan in 46 moves.
Mungunzul (right) drew by repetition of position with Bodnaruk (left) in 37 moves of a Scotch Game.
Seven players trail with 4 points each, namely IM Agrawal Vantika and WGM PV Nandhidhaa of India, WIM Afruza Kahmdamova and IM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova of Uzbekisan, IM Munguntuul Batkhyag of Mongolia, IM Song Yuxin of China and GM Olga Girya, playing under the FIDE flag.
The top two women shall qualify into the FIDE Women’s World Cup scheduled 5th July in Batumi, Georgia.
Guess the Sacrifice
In the following round 5 game between Chinese compatriots Jiang Haochen as White and GM Xu Xiangyu as Black, after 26…Rfc8? White played Rd1-d8+ and Black resigned facing inevitable mate.
In the following rd5 game between GM M. Pranesh of India as White and FM Imangali Akhilbay of Kazakhstan, after 22…Nc6? Black made a double sacrifice with 23.Nxe6+ and after 23…Kg8 followed up with another sacrifice 24.Nxg7
In the following game between IM Zhao Yuanhe as White and GM Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan as Black, after 21.Bxg4 Black played 21…Bxf2+
