Blitz Challenge with Iniyan

by Frederic Friedel
11/6/2020 – Today, Friday, November 6, at 2:30 p.m. (in Europe) there will be another Blitz Challenge on Playchess. The player to beat is 18-year-old Iniyan Panneerselvam, who recently won the World Open, and played a 72-hour online Blitz Marathon to raise funds for the COVID crisis. The Playchess challenge games will be commented by host IM Sagar Shah, who will also be analyzing them with Iniyan afterwards. You too can play against him too, or simply watch and learn.
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Iniyan will be playing against Premium members of the ChessBase Account. Time control: 3 min + 2 sec increment. The games will be commentated by IM Sagar Shah, and he will be analyzing them with the masters after each game is over! This is a perfect way to match your wits against a great talent and at the same time learn from the commentary and post-game analysis.

If you do not have a ChessBase Account already you can get one here - it costs just €49.90 per year (or €4.99 per month) for Premium membership. A Starter account costs 34.90/year. You can compare what each account has to offer here.

You can challenge Iniyan or simply watch the games in:

The event is being staged by ChessBase India, which has 500,000+ subscribers on YouTube, with up to 35 million views of individual videos.

Iniyan Panneerselvam

Born in Erode, a small town in Tamil Nadu in 13.09.2002, Iniyan started his chess career at the age of five and a half in his family. His first tournaments started in the end of 2008, and his talent in the game became obvious. In 2009 he won Silver in the Indian National U7 championship and qualified for internationals. The first international tournament was the Asian Youth U8 and the World Youth U-8.

During the Anand-Carlsen World Championship match in 2013 in Chennai a number of tournaments were held for chess enthusiasts. In the below 2100 category, Iniyan, who was the 41th seed player, won the tournament with 9/9 points. Improving rapidly he went on to win the Commonwealth U14 championship in 2016 with a perfect 9/9 score.

The June to September 2017 season was the best in his career. In eight tournaments, one after the other in Spain, Andorra, UAE and Malaysia. In the first he beat three GMs and gained his first GM norm. In the following years he completed five GM norms, but only gained the title when he reached the required rating (by beating the 2600+ GM Fedorchuk Sergey) in 2019. Here's that vital game in Iniyan's career:

 
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1.e41,184,21554%2421---
1.d4958,93255%2434---
1.Nf3286,32756%2441---
1.c4184,72256%2443---
1.g319,88456%2427---
1.b314,59854%2428---
1.f45,95348%2377---
1.Nc33,90650%2384---
1.b41,79048%2378---
1.a31,25054%2406---
1.e31,08149%2409---
1.d396950%2378---
1.g467046%2361---
1.h446654%2382---
1.c343951%2425---
1.h328956%2420---
1.a411860%2461---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39267%2511---
1.Na34762%2476---
1.d4 This game has a special place in my heart as it is by this winning this one I crossed 2500 and became grandmaster. The background to this was, I was 2498.5 in Aeroflot tournament a few days before this and needed a draw to cross 2500. And aiming for a draw, I naturally lost the game. This time I was once again within reach of the 2500 and I was determined to do my best. Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 The Rubinstein variation of the Nimzo Indian. One of the oldest and soundest systems. b6 5.Bd3 Bb7 6.Nf3 c5 He goes for the Keres System. 7.0-0 0-0 8.Na4 The idea behind this is now there is no Bxc3 against a3, thereby forcing his next move. cxd4 9.exd4 Re8 10.a3 Bf8 11.b4 a5 11...d6 Is the main move here. 12.b5 d6 The pawn structures are fixed for now and the strategical battle starts now. Black's plan is to play d5 without allowing c5. Achieving this would give white a isolated pawn on d4 with very less attacking chances that is normal for IQP. 13.Nd2!? Bringing the Knight to b3 so that I could play c5 in reply to d5. Nbd7 14.Nb3 Rc8 He is also keeping pressure on the c5 square. It is easy to see the tension on that part of the board. 15.Be3 Be4 Black tries to exchange the light squared Bishops. This may seem anti-positional since it is white's pawns which is on c4 and b5 hence he has the 'bad' Bishop, but if you think a bit deeper, you can see that white is planning f3 after which the b7 Bishop is dead while white's light squared Bishop continues exerting pressure on the b1-h7 diagonal. 16.Rc1 Qc7 17.Be2 I thought that it is better to keep the pieces on the board with space advantage. Qb8 18.f3 Making him choose which diagonal to go and he naturally doesn't keep the Bishop in the long diagonal since all the squares in that is covered. Bg6 19.Qd2 Red8 Black is also now planning e5 in some variations. White should be ready to meet that with dxe5 and c5. 20.Rfd1 h6 If he tries to break with 20...e5 then 21.Qb2 followed by dxe5 and c5 is much better for white. 21.Qe1 Transferring the Queen to f2 to put pressure on b6 and prevent e5 by direct means. Re8 22.Qf2 Now both sides pieces are well placed. Yet it is white who is better. Why is that? It is because, white has the potential to improve while black doesn't, meaning black is going to be cramped more and more and eventually will crack. Rc7 23.g4! Starting play on another flank and stretching his defences. Rcc8 He is waiting. Nothing much he can do. 24.h4 Be7 25.Qh2! Threatening c5 and exchanging the Queens and also g5 Nh7 h5 breaking open the K-side. 25.g5 Nh7 26.gxh6 Nhf6 Seemed to be a possibility when with the h5 square controlled black could be fine. 25...Qa7 26.g5 hxg5 26...Nh5 27.f4 and the Knight is trapped. I will play Bf3 and Qe2. 27.hxg5 Nh7 28.Qg3 Bd8 29.Kf2 Opening the first rank for the Rook and also protecting the e3 Bishop. e5? Although it is hard to play this position with black, this move gives white a huge advantage. 30.dxe5 dxe5 31.Qg4! The c8 Rook is pinned and black is losing material here. Re6 32.c5 Nxc5 33.Nbxc5 bxc5 34.Bc4 Black's Rook on c8 is unfortunately placed. Nf8 35.Qh3 Be7?! 36.Rh1 Bh7 37.g6! Best Qb8 38.Bxe6 A very memorable game not only because I became a Grandmaster by this, but also because I had won against a 2600 GM in a clear, positional way without making anything that could be called as a mistake. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Iniyan,P2487Fedorchuk Sergey,A26091–02019E43Noisiel Open 20196

In May this year Iniyan decided to organise a fundraiser for Covid-19. In this he staged a Blitz Marathon in which he played analysed the games with participants for a minimum donation of Rs.150 (two US dollars). Over the course of three days he played against 271 players from ten countries. Except for the sleeping time he was playing without stop, starting at about 8:30 a.m. and going till midnight. The total playing time was 45 hours. With this effort Iniyan raised Rs. 121,199, which was donated in full to the Chief Ministers relief fund and Prime Ministers Care fund. This is what Vladimir Kramnik thought of the effort:

On the Facebook Blitz Marathon page you can see what dozens of other grandmasters and famous personalities though of Iniyan's action for Covid relief.

Recently the World Open was held, online due to corona crisis. The GMs came in force, making up 1/3rd of the participants being GM. Iniyan started with a draw, but continued with six wins, against player like Sevian, Jobava, Nyzhyk and Erenburg, and in the end tied for first place. A great victory considering, the level of opposition. Incidentally a few days before the World Open he won a game of which he is especially proud:

 
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1.e4 This game is just a blitz, but however nothing is small when it comes to beating the World No. 2. e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 The Chigorin variation of the Ruy Lopez, one of the most classical of openings. This variation is so complex that structures of several openings can arise. 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Nbd2 12.d5 is another main line. 12...exd4 12...cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.d5 Nce5 15.Nxe5 15.Nh2 is also possible. 15...Nxe5 16.f4 Ng6 17.Nf3 Bh4 The first critical position. It was obvious that he was well prepared here by the speed with which he was playing. 18.Rf1 Immediately after I played this I saw how bad a position this leads to. 18.Nxh4 Should be played here. Qxh4 19.f5= 18...Bg3 Black has a great position. 19.e5 Although this is bad, am going for a practical chance. 19.f5 Ne5 and white is positionally busted here. The dark squares are too weak and the biggest problem is the c2 bishop, which has no scope. 19...Nxf4 Taking a pawn. Why not? 20.exd6
20...Ng6? This is where he errs. 20...Qxd6 Is simply better. White doesn't have any strong attack. The knight on f4 controls several important squares and the d5 pawn is falling. 21.Ng5 Now White gets a huge attack. Threats of Qh5, Nxf7, Nxh7 and Rxf7 hangs around. Bh4? 21...Qxd6 22.Qh5 h6 23.Nxf7 Rxf7 24.Rxf7 Kxf7 25.Be3 Followed by Rf1 is unclear. 22.Nxh7! I think Caruana missed this move when playing Ng6. Re8 A fantastic position. A nice place to stop and think, which is unfortunately not a luxury available in blitz. 22...Kxh7 23.Rxf7 Rxf7 24.Qh5+ Kg8 25.Bxg6+- 23.Qh5 23.Rxf7! Kxf7 24.Bg5‼ Tempo is more important than a piece here. This move clears the way for the a1 rook to enter. Bxg5 25.Qh5 Be3+ 26.Kh1 Qxd6 27.Bxg6+ Ke7 28.Qh4+ Kd7 29.Bxe8+ Kc7 29...Kxe8 30.Rf1+- 30.Re1+- 23.d7! This move can be found only if you see Qf3 and find Black's defence. Bxd7 24.Qf3 Now that the 7th rank is shut, there is no Ra7. Qe7 25.Bg5 Bxg5 26.Nxg5± 23...Re5 24.Qf3 f5? 24...Ra7! Should be played. This is a nice defence which I completely underestimated. 25.Qh5! A nice switch back. Now the g6 Knight is weak and there are several pieces hanging in the K-side. Qxd6 26.Bg5! Bxg5 26...Bg3 27.Nf6++- 27.Nxg5 Qf6 28.Rae1 Bringing the last piece into the game. White is clearly winning. Rxe1 29.Rxe1 Bd7 30.Qh7+ Kf8 31.Ne6+ Kf7 32.Bxf5 Nf8 33.Nxf8? 33.Qh8+- Is a simple and strong move. Black doesnt have a move here. It is in these situations that blitz plays a role and huge innacuracies creep in. 33...Bxf5 34.Qh5+ Kg8 34...g6 Is better. 35.Qh6± 35.Ne6 Bg6 36.Qf3?! We were down to last seconds and any reduction of material is welcome. But objectively, keeping the queens on would be better. Qxb2? Loses on the spot. 36...Qxf3 37.gxf3 Bf7 Is still a fight. White has more chances to win than Black to draw, but still playable. 37.d6 Rb8 38.d7 Qd2 39.Rd1 Qc2 40.d8Q+ Rxd8 41.Rxd8+ My first win against an elite player. I was ecstatic after this. 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Iniyan,P2506Caruana,F28121–02020C96Titled Tuesday3

In August/September 2019, Iniyan participated in a special training camp conducted by Vladimir Kramnik for six very talented Indian youngsters in Chens-Sur-Léman, France. He also took part in the Training Camp II in Chennai, India, with Kramnik and Boris Gelfand. In the latter he proved that he is a superb solver of logical problems, as we reported here. You can watch him perform in the video at the end of this report.

Editor-in-Chief emeritus of the ChessBase News page. Studied Philosophy and Linguistics at the University of Hamburg and Oxford, graduating with a thesis on speech act theory and moral language. He started a university career but switched to science journalism, producing documentaries for German TV. In 1986 he co-founded ChessBase.

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