RTU Open: A massive turnout

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/11/2021 – The Riga Technical University Open is taking place on August 9-15 at the international exhibition centre Kipsala in the Latvian capital. The tournament sees 176 players fighting for a €17,100 prize fund. German GM Alexander Donchenko is the top seed, and is followed closely by nine other 2600+ rated players, including six grandmasters hailing from India. After three rounds, nine players still have a perfect score.
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Nine players still perfect

As more and more over-the-board tournaments are being organized worldwide, traditional European opens have also made a comeback. The Riga Technical University Festival is no exception, as it has attracted no fewer than 176 players to its main event, including 26 GMs and 24 IMs. 

With 38 players representing the host country, the second-largest contingent hails from India, with 27 representatives having made their way to the Latvian capital. Moreover, the top 20 in the starting rank includes 9 Indian grandmasters, headed by Nihal Sarin (aged 17), Sethuraman S.P. (28) and Aravindh Chithambaram (21). 

Nihal is the second seed in the 6-day, 9-round open tournament — German GM Alexander Donchenko is the highest-rated player in the field. While Donchenko drew in round 2 and lost his third-round game — against GM Ralf Akesson from Sweden (Elo 2395) — Nihal still has a perfect score going into round 4. The Indian prodigy is not alone atop the standings, though, as 8 other players also have a 3/3 score.

In the fourth round, Nihal will face his compatriot Arjun Erigaisi (also 17 years old), who made a strong impression at the recent Goldmoney Asian Rapid online tournament.

Pairings - Round 4 (top 5 boards)

Name Pts. Result Pts. Name
Erigaisi Arjun 3   3 Nihal Sarin
Pultinevicius Paulius 3   3 Narayanan.S.L
Hakobyan Aram 3   3 Puranik Abhimanyu
Grigorov Grigor 3   3 Smirin Ilia
Kovalenko Igor 2½   3 Laurusas Tomas

...87 boards

Donchenko’s loss against Akesson saw both players trading errors in a double-edged position.

 
Akesson vs. Donchenko - Round 3

The Swedish grandmaster had just blundered by playing 40.Kh1, as the king move allows 40...Ng3+ 41.hxg3 Qh3+ 42.Kg1 Qxg3+ 43.Kh1 Qxd3 and Black is winning. However, this opportunity was missed by Donchenko, who played 40...Rxb3. Moreover, after 41.Ne5, the German blundered the game away with 41...Qh4.

Klaus Besenthal annotated the game in full.

 
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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 a6 4.Bg2 b5
This unusual-looking way of opening the game by Black is perfectly correct and has been played many times. 5.b3 c5 6.0-0 Bb7 7.Nc3 Qb6 8.e3 Be7 9.Qe2 0-0
Black offers a pawn sacrifice that is somewhat reminiscent of the Volga Gambit: the black player can exert a lot of pressure on the open files on the queenside. 10.Rd1 d5 11.cxb5 axb5 12.Qxb5 Qc7 13.Qe2 Akesson grabbed the pawn and safeguarded his queen. Ba6 14.d3 Nc6 15.Bb2 Rfd8 16.Rac1 e5 This move is perhaps not quite as good as it looks: White can now force the creation of a structure that is quite pleasant for him. 17.e4 d4 18.Nb1 Here White had 18.Nd5! returning the pawn - but only temporarily! After Nxd5 19.exd5 Rxd5 20.Ng5 Rd6 20...Rdd8 21.Nxf7 Kxf7 22.Qf3+ usw. 21.Ne4 Rg6 22.Nxc5 White has a noticeable advantage. 18...Nd7 19.Bh3 Rdb8 20.Ne1
This is not a good move. White gives up control over g5. 20...Bc8?! Here, surprisingly Black had 20...c4! 21.bxc4 21.dxc4 Bc8! The white pawns on the queenside are starting to feel the pressure. 21...Bg5 22.Rc2 Nb4 21.Na3 Ra6 22.Ra1 Qa7 23.Nec2 g6 24.f4 exf4 25.gxf4 Nf6 26.Bxc8 Rxc8 27.Qf3 Nh5 28.Rf1 Bf8 29.Kh1 Bh6 30.Bc1 Rb8 31.Qh3 Qc7 32.Qh4?! 32.Qf3! was a better square for the queen, planning to secure the long diagonal. 32...Qa7 Black had 32...f5! and White is vulnerable on the long diagonal. 33.Qh3 Nb4 34.Nxb4 Rxb4 35.Nc4 Rxa2 Black gets his pawn back. However, better was 35...Rxb3! 36.Rxa2 Qxa2 37.Qc8+ 37.Ne5! with the threat of Qc8+ and Nd7 was more unpleasant for Black here, as he would have been forced into passive defence. 37...Bf8 38.f5 Qe2! Now this move holds the balance. 39.Kg1 Qg4+
40.Kh1?? After this move, Akesson should have lost. Rxb3? 40...Ng3+! 41.hxg3 Qh3+ 42.Kg1 Qxg3+ 43.Kh1 Qxd3!-+ Black's attack runs at full speed, while his king is suddenly completely safe. 41.Ne5 Qh4??
After failing to find the winning move, Donchenko makes a losing mistake. 41...Qe2!= 42.Nd7 Black has not threatened anything with his last move, so White has time for this move now. Qe7 43.Bh6 Rxd3 44.e5! Preventing Black from getting active again. Rh3 45.f6 Nxf6 46.Nxf6+ Kh8 47.Bxf8 Rxh2+ 48.Kg1 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Akesson,R2395Donchenko,A26571–02021A13RTU Open 20213.13

Standings after round 3 (top 20)

Rk. Name Pts.  TB1 
1 Narayanan.S.L 3,0 4,0
2 Hakobyan Aram 3,0 4,0
3 Smirin Ilia 3,0 4,0
4 Puranik Abhimanyu 3,0 4,0
5 Erigaisi Arjun 3,0 4,0
6 Laurusas Tomas 3,0 4,0
7 Nihal Sarin 3,0 3,5
8 Pultinevicius Paulius 3,0 3,5
9 Grigorov Grigor 3,0 3,5
10 Kovalenko Igor 2,5 4,5
11 Kretainis Kristaps 2,5 4,0
12 Akesson Ralf 2,5 4,0
13 Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. 2,5 4,0
14 Vignesh N R 2,5 4,0
15 Ivic Velimir 2,5 3,5
16 Arjun Kalyan 2,5 3,5
17 Pavlov Sergey 2,5 3,5
18 Visakh N R 2,5 3,5
19 Sanal Vahap 2,5 3,0
20 Ioannidis Evgenios 2,5 3,0

...176 players

All games

 
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  • Start an analysis engine:
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  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
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  • 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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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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