Kolkata wraps up Indian circuit

By IA Prof. R. Anantharam

Three successive grandmasters tournament in India, as a part of the celebrations of the World Championship match between Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen and three different winners. The first one was at Chennai itself (chessbase readers will remember the article – fourteen year old FM Aravindh Chithambaram of Chennai, winning the tournament ahead of 21 GMs and 30 IMs) and second leg at Hyderabad won by former world under 16 champion GM SP Sethuraman, also of Chennai. The third leg at Kolkata denied a hat trick of success to Indians, as GM Ter Sahakyan Samvel of Armenia won the title, after five foreign grandmasters tied for the first place.

Veteran grandmaster Pravin Thipsay (right) lost to former under 12 world champion GM Deep Sengupta. DV Sundar, FIDE Vice President WIM Saheli Dhar Barua are watching the game

It is very rare to have more than half of the players in a Swiss tournament to be title holders. The SREI International Grandmasters Open Chess Tournament, organised by Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy at Town Hall, Kolkata can boast to comprise 56 such elite players (22GMs, 24 IMs, 2 WGMs, 7 FMs and 1 WFM) among a total of 99 players. The chess exponents hailed from thirteen federations belonging to all continents, except Africa. Dibyendu Barua, the second person to obtain the grandmaster title in India (after Vishy Anand), as Tournament Director, made elaborate and spectacular arrangements in a highly professional manner.

WFM Maria Gevorgyan of Armmenia was fascinated by Kolkata. Here she is with the chief arbiter Prof.R. Anantharam and his wife. The Ancient Victoria Palace is at the backdrop.

Here she is beneath the new bridge across the Ganges river in Kolkata. It is also known as the Hoogly river

Grandmaster Surya Sekhar Ganguly from the host state West Bengal began the tournament as the highest seed, followed by GM Ivan Popov of Russia. Ganguly did not play up to expectations and finished a distant thirtieth rank. IM Mozhorov Mikhail of Russia, who earned GM norms in all the three tournaments, GM Pantsulaia Levan of Georgia, FM S Tigran Petrosyan of Armenia and GM Azer Mirzoev of Azerbaijan also scored 7.5 points in 10 rounds, as many points as Ter Sahakyan, but Buchholz score placed them from second to fifth in that order. Ivan Popov, who was the top seed in two previous tournaments tried to amend his lapses at Chennai and Hyderabad, scored 7.0 points and had to settle for the sixth place.

IM Mozharov Mikhail of Russia earned three GM norms in three successive tournaments

and Mozharov finished second, while his final round opponent Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia was third

Under 14 world champion IM Karthikeyan Murali shocked SS Ganguly, the top seed who was a second to Anand in many world championships

15 year old NR Vignesh made two IM norms (Chennai and Kolkata) and his younger brother NR Visakh made a norm at Kolkata

The simple and unassuming Ter Sahakyan is a former world under 18 champion (2011 in Brazil) and it is his second visit to India, after his participation in the World Junior Championship at Chennai in 2011.

IM Stopa Jacek of Poland defeated GM Deep Sengupta to emerge sole leader after six rounds. However a series of losses placed him far from first. Stopa is an avid chess composition solver and is currently completing his Master's Degree in China... in Chinese!

The tournament was organised by DIbyendu Barua Chess Academy. Barua in 1978 became the youngest player to participate in the Indian National Championship, a record which is yet to be broken. In 1982, he defeated the then world number two Viktor Korchnoi. His wife Saheli Dhar Barua is the key person behind the success of Dibyendu Barua in his administrative career.

GM Dibyendu Barua in a chat with FIDE Vice President DV Sundar. Sundar was the Director of the World Championship Match

Ter Sahakyan receives the trophy from Indian popular cine actress Raima Sen. DV Sundar, FIDE Vice President and GM Dibyendu Barua arte also in the picture

Final Standings

Tiebreak: Bucholz