3/25/2023 – Generally after winning a tournament in a dominating fashion, players tend to relax. That's not what GM Leon Luke Mendonca did. After clinching 27th Hit Open 2023 on the previous day, the teenager went on to defeat FM Domen Tisaj to score a perfect 9/9. Leon, who has just turned 17, performed at 3196, which earned him 26.4 Elo rating points. This is Leon's second consecutive tournament triumph this month: he remains undefeated after winning 38th ChessOrg Festival Bad Woerishofen 2023 on 11th March. Report with full post-match interview.
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Leon performs at 3196
The brand ambassador of Geno and Microsense, GM Leon Luke Mendonca has been hitting all the right notes lately. After winning the 27th Hit Open 2023 before the final round, he did not slow down, but won the ninth-round game to finish with 9.0/9, with a rating performance of 3196. It will be very difficult to tie Leon's record, let alone break it, unless the future editions get an extra round or two. The top three prizes were €1000, €750 and €500 each respectively.
A well-timed offer of a queen exchange gave Leon a long-term positional advantage against FM Domen Tisaj (SLO, 2372). Computer recommends declining the exchange 22.Qe2 Ba3 23.Rb1 e4 and White's position stays unpleasant. The game continued 22.Qxc6 Rxc6 23.Nb1 Ne4 24.Be1 all White's pieces are now on the first rank f5 25.f3 Nf6 and Black went on to win the game eventually.
Last month, Leon visited the ChessBase office and was Karsten Müller’s guest in his Endgame Magic Show. Check it out!
Leon's perfect 9.0/9 involved defeating five grandmasters and earned him 26.4 rating points
The maestro Vishy Anand congratulated his WACA student.
Congratulations @leonkingof64 ! Ambition and perseverance are qualities that make him an amazing person! This score is an excellent result for his chess ! Proud of our @WacaChess mentee https://t.co/OMGrqUmx6I
This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.
The tournament hall | Photo: Chess Club Nova Gorica
A total of 84 players including 10 GMs and an IM took part in the A group (>1500) from 13 countries across the world. The eight-day, nine-round Swiss league Rating tournament was organized by Chess Club Nova Gorica in Nova Gorica, Slovenia from 16th to 23rd March 2023. The time control of the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
Shahid AhmedShahid Ahmed is the senior coordinator and editor of ChessBase India. He enjoys covering chess tournaments and also likes to play in chess events from time to time.
Congratulations to Leon! Really amazing performance. And please do not miss
https://en.chessbase.com/post/endgame-magic-229-indian-talent-leon-luke-mendonca-shows-endgame-highlights-from-his-games
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