2015 Indian Premier Championship

Chess has metamorphosed into a young man’s game. If solidity is the key to winning tournaments, some players like Murali Karthikeyan believe otherwise. Of course, he feels terrible when he loses. Any grandmaster of sixteen would. He is overjoyed when he wins – he called up his parents, who then made a six-hour bus journey on the night before the tournament ended to witness their son’s moment of glory. All he needed was a draw to become India’s National Premier Champion.

Murali Karthikeyan qualified to play in the National Premier by picking up his spot at the National Challenger’s Championship held at Nagpur, India in August. His performance in the World Juniors was lackluster, to put it mildly. When the National Premier began, he was already staring at a humongous deficit, as his aggregate score after two rounds read 0/2. Understandably, Karthikeyan would just retreat to the silence of his hotel room after the rounds. The lad preferred to stay alone, rather than be with his parents, so he could focus better. His tournament situation painted a bleak mask on his face.

It was as if he were forced to box with Muhammad Ali with one hand tied behind his back,
and GM M. Karthikeyan (2498) wasn’t happy

GM S.P. Sethuraman (2651)

The tournament was a fourteen player round robin, and there is much that could be written about the players themselves, their moments of joy and sorrow. Much could be said about Sethuraman’s memorable comeback in the second half of the tournament or Vidit Gujrathi’s methodical assault at the national title.

GM Vidit Gujrathi (2651)

Vidit was eager to stamp his mark in the history of India’s National Championships, and all throughout the tourney, he displayed in-depth preparation, which won him many a game. In the second round, he entered a variation that his opponent has been playing for more than a decade, and managed to surprise him. A surprised player is half beaten.

Vidit-Rathnakaran (Analysis by FM Nihal Sarin)

Thus, Vidit was off to a stellar start with two quick victories, but he was not alone…

… IM P. Karthikeyan (2441) started with two victories as well, as he first defeated…

… GM M.R. Venkatesh (2464) with a tactical shot on the middle of the board.

P. Karthikeyan-Venkatesh (Analysis by FM Nihal Sarin)

In the second round, P. Karthikeyan took down his namesake GM M. Karthikeyan, who had lost the first game as well and now, was left marooned on an island of 0/2, along with GM Abhijit Kunte and GM Venkatesh, whom he was playing in the third round.

In this battle of the zero pointers, M. Karthikeyan was able to score his first victory of the
tournament. He was on the scoreboard, finally.

GM Neelotpal Das (2475)

Then, in the fourth round against GM Neelotpal Das, he played a game that was simple by its nature, yet elegant in its execution.

Murali-Neelotpal (Analysis by IM Srinath Narayanan)

Then came another win for M. Karthikeyan, this time over GM Deep Sengupta (2589)

After punching three straight victories, he settled for a draw with GM M. Shyamsundar (2481) and…

…FM Praneeth Surya (2413), the last seed, who has gained more than 200 points in a space of five tournaments in 2015.

Although Vidit wiped him out in the first round, Praneeth played some excellent chess throughout the tournament. What he lacked in opening preparation and experience, he made up with excellent calculations and by maintaining a calm head under time-pressure. He downed a number of grandmasters, but the biggest catch was undoubtedly the defending champion, who out rated him by 234 points.

Praneeth-Sethuraman (Analysis by FM Praneeth Surya)

Position after 47.Rxf4!

IM K. Rathnakaran (2447) is famous in Indian chess circles for his fiery aggression over the board

Sethuraman-Rathnakaran

Sethuraman looked up to the heavens, ‘Eli! Why have you forsaken me?’

Rathnakaran was black against GM Murali Karthikeyan in the eighth round, and the latter smashed him out of the park…

…but good ol’ Rathnakaran wasn’t to be dissuaded from doing what he does best in the
very next game, against Praneeth Surya.

Praneeth-Rathnakaran (Analysis by FM Nihal Sarin)

33…Qh1+! Talk about finishing in style

His swashbuckling style of play has won him a legion of admirers in India

Round 8: S.P. Sethuraman (2651) vs. Vidit Gujrathi (2651)

The classical French between these two titans turned into a crazy affair as Sethu launched himself on the kingside with his pawns while Vidit returned the punches on the other flank, where White’s King stood. The game was further complicated when Vidit bombed the center with 26…e5, initiating a complicated series of exchanges embedded with a queen sacrifice, en-passant. All this happened while both players were grappled by serious time-trouble.

Sethuraman-Vidit (Analysis by FM Nihal Sarin)

Practically, it is next to impossible to calculate all the details accurately, especially with mere seconds left per move. Sethu and Vidit did miss chances galore, but see the game and tell us, are you not entertained?

IM P. Shyaamnikhil (2436)

While Vidit was running away with the title and Sehu was slowly resurrecting himself after a disastrous first half, Murali Karthikeyan scored yet another victory in the ninth round, and his victim was IM P. Shyaamnikhil.

Shyaamnikhil-Karthikeyan (Analysis by GM Murali Karthikeyan)

Vidit was a point ahead of Murali Karthikeyan when the two met in the tenth round…

Murali Karthikeyan – Vidit Gujrathi

At this point, Vidit knew that something had gone wrong…

26.b4! The critical move that eventually won Karthikeyan the game

Therefore, after ten rounds, Vidit and M. Karthikeyan were in the joint lead. Vidit took on GM Neelotpal Das and was narrowly able to hold a draw. Meanwhile, M. Karthikeyan faced no difficulties in holding…

…GM Abhijit Kunte (2515), who was the third player to begin the tournament with 0/2

Although he was nowhere in contention, the following tactic is surely a memorable one:

Arghyadip Das-Abhijit Kunte

In the penultimate round, Vidit was only able to draw with GM Deep Sengupta, and M. Karthikeyan took full advantage of this opportunity to beat GM Swapnil Dhopade, and steal the lead!

GM Swapnil Dhopade (2497)

Meanwhile, S.P. Sethuraman was completing a remarkable comeback after a bad start to the tournament

Venkatesh-Sethuraman (Analysis by GM S.P. Sethuraman)

Murali Karthikeyan needed a draw with Arghyadip Das to become the 2015 National Champion of India. In case he happened to lose, it would open up doors for both Vidit and Sethuraman. The only way Vidit would win the tournament is by winning with the white pieces against Shyam Sundar M. and at the same time, M. Karthikeyan lost with black to Arghyadip. Sethuraman would join the race if he managed to win and M. Karthikeyan lost while Vidit drew or lost his game. In such a case, since Karthikeyan had beaten Vidit but lost to Sethuraman, while Sethuraman had drawn with Vidit as well, Sethuraman would be the winner!

The pressure had reached a boiling point in the final round as Vidit took on…

…GM Shyamsundar M. (2481)

Vidit-Shyamsundar (Analysis by FM Nihal Sarin)

Vidit had a serene advantage when Shyamsundar decided to stir the pot 19… Bxe2. The game eventually ended in a draw.

Meanwhile, M. Karthikeyan was beaten soundly!

The man who spoiled his party was IM Arghyadip Das (2456)

Arghyadip Das-M. Karthikeyan (FM Nihal Sarin)

Nevertheless, as it so happened, both Sethuraman and Vidit were only able to draw their games, and Murali Karthikeyan was crowned the champion anyway.

You may gauge how much love the state of Tamil Nadu, the birthplace of Vishy Anand, has for chess and their players!

Anand is a sporting and cultural icon in this part of India

Hotel Kasi’s Inn, Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu in India was the host of the tournament

Murali Karthikeyan with his proud parents

Special thanks to FM Nihal Sarin for analyzing the games in this report.

All photos by Priyadarshan Banjan

Final standings

Annotation:
Tie Break1: Direct Encounter (The results of the players in the same point group)
Tie Break2: Sonneborn-Berger-Tie-Break variable
Tie Break3: Greater number of victories (variable)

Links All games in PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.