Sharjah Masters 04-05: Children warriors
3/28/2017 – Rounds four and five of the Sharjah Master open saw the final confrontations between hugely disparate ratings, with top boards still facing as much as 600 Elo differences. It wasn’t all fun and games for the favorites though, with Gawain Jones tweeting about ‘near perfect defense’ from his 10-year-old opponent. Illustrated report with videos and analysis.
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All photos by Maria Emelianova
Meet CM Aditya Mittal, 10 years old, who faced...
... GM Gawain Jones in round four, one of the leaders. The photo above is not merely a chance to suggest it was not an easy fight.
Surprised on moves 1, 2+ 3. After 10yr old opp exhausted me with near perfect defence yesterday decided to take pragmatic draw. #Shjmasters
— Gawain Jones (@GMGawain) March 27, 2017
It was not just him though:
Wang Hao faced 11-year-old FM Sadhwani Raunak, rated 2218 in round four
It almost seems like everyone is going to be baptized with a tough fight against a youngster:
These Indian prodigies are tough... It took an effort of GM Schroeder to win against 10-year-old CM Mendonca, rated 400 less! #shjmasters pic.twitter.com/MECamg3rL4
— Sharjah Masters (@shj_masters) March 27, 2017
And then of course there are the 10-year-old IMs... ok, 11 years old now. One thing is clear: they don't make those 10-year-olds like they used to... Below, Indian prodigy Praggnanandhaa shares his entertaining win in round four:
Praggnanandhaa vs Abdulkarim
11-year-old Paggnanandhaa plays an excellent game, with a dose of chaos (left in the notes) and shares his analysis and what he saw
The surprises aren't only coming from the kids either. 19-year-old WFM Srija Seshadri, rated a modest 2166 FIDE, started with three easy wins over sub-2000 opponents, only to face a 2643 rated GM in round four. She drew! But that was not the only surprise. The biggest one was when she faced another 2643 rated GM in round five, and drew him as well! Go girl, go!
Video report on round four by Daniel King
In this short video, you will find live footage of Jones and the exhausting opponent mentioned above, as well as comments by Srija Seshadri after her first GM draw
French WGM Anda Safranska is now at 3.0/5, and will face her third straight GM in round six
Pawan Dodeja vs Matthias Bluebaum
Matthias Bluebaum, the German no.2, find himself against a hyper aggressive rival who refuses to be intimidated. What ensues is a dynamic battle, handled with aplomb. An interesting and instructive game.
Daniel King with Murad Abdulla as they plot their next videos. The slew of video analysis, interviews, and reports have been a delight to follow.
Priyanka Nutakki v Rasmus Svane
19-year-old GM Rasmus Svane shows how he converted an endgame in textbook fashion
Indian GM Sethuraman may have lost to Wang Hao in round three, but with four other wins, he is still very much in the mix. It shows how tough the event is that with 4.0/5 he is still only 25th in the standings this far.
Daniel King analyzes Amin Bassem vs Akila
This is the opening Amin Bassem hoped would bring a swift and easy victory. It turned out a lot harder than he had expected.
Imagine being nearly 600 Elo over your opponent. You imagine an easy win and thus try to bully your way to it with a highly irregular opening, but instead find yourself questioning your strategy as your opponent responds well. Daniel King shares insights on how to handle this 'blitz' opening play.
Arkadij Naiditsch vs Karthikeyan P.
A look at the playing hall. Notice the very comfortable chairs for all players, something all players will appreciate.
Gabriel Sargissian vs Srinath Narayanan
Rasmus Svane vs Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko
Once again, showing off his technical skills, Rasmus Svane reaches this rook endgame against GM Oleksiyenko, rated 2643, and converts it in a virtuoso display.
Watch the analysis by 19-year-old Rasmus Svane as he shows how he converted the rook endgame, proving that not all rook endgames are drawn.
Daniel King analyzes Valeriy Neverov vs Sandro Mareco
Sandro Mareco, the Elo favorite, faces the veteran GM Neverov, and scores a fairly smooth victory. Daniel King looks at the game, and notably the opening system the Argentinian player employed.
Standings after five rounds
|
Rk |
SNo |
Ti. |
Name |
FED |
Rtg |
Pts |
TB |
rtg+/- |
| 1 | 6 | GM | Adhiban B. | IND | 2682 | 4,5 | 13,5 | 8,3 |
| 2 | 10 | GM | Jones Gawain C B | ENG | 2676 | 4,5 | 13,0 | 8,6 |
| 3 | 5 | GM | Wang Hao | CHN | 2683 | 4,5 | 12,0 | 7,6 |
| 4 | 16 | GM | Fressinet Laurent | FRA | 2662 | 4,5 | 10,0 | 5,7 |
| 5 | 21 | GM | Kravtsiv Martyn | UKR | 2641 | 4,5 | 9,5 | 7,1 |
| 6 | 38 | GM | Svane Rasmus | GER | 2570 | 4,5 | 9,5 | 7,6 |
| 7 | 11 | GM | Akopian Vladimir | ARM | 2675 | 4,0 | 12,5 | 1,1 |
| 28 | GM | Adly Ahmed | EGY | 2593 | 4,0 | 12,5 | 6,2 | |
| 9 | 17 | GM | Amin Bassem | EGY | 2660 | 4,0 | 12,0 | 1,5 |
| 10 | 2 | GM | Kryvoruchko Yuriy | UKR | 2708 | 4,0 | 11,5 | -0,5 |
| 11 | 4 | GM | Naiditsch Arkadij | AZE | 2702 | 4,0 | 11,0 | -0,5 |
| 12 | 35 | GM | Idani Pouya | IRI | 2576 | 4,0 | 10,5 | 2,4 |
| 13 | 19 | GM | Kuzubov Yuriy | UKR | 2643 | 4,0 | 10,5 | -2,9 |
| 14 | 46 | GM | Schroeder Jan-Christian | GER | 2543 | 4,0 | 10,5 | 3,3 |
| 15 | 22 | GM | Bluebaum Matthias | GER | 2632 | 4,0 | 10,5 | -1,5 |
| 16 | 45 | GM | Pichot Alan | ARG | 2556 | 4,0 | 10,0 | 2,2 |
| 17 | 47 | Xu Yinglun | CHN | 2540 | 4,0 | 10,0 | 2,7 | |
| 18 | 36 | GM | Maghsoodloo Parham | IRI | 2576 | 4,0 | 10,0 | 0,2 |
| 19 | 15 | GM | Mareco Sandro | ARG | 2664 | 4,0 | 10,0 | -1,6 |
| 40 | GM | Fier Alexandr | BRA | 2568 | 4,0 | 10,0 | -1,5 | |
| 21 | 31 | GM | Gledura Benjamin | HUN | 2588 | 4,0 | 9,5 | 2,9 |
| 22 | 48 | GM | Harika Dronavalli | IND | 2539 | 4,0 | 9,0 | 2,1 |
| 23 | 49 | GM | Vishnu Prasanna. V | IND | 2534 | 4,0 | 9,0 | 2,6 |
| 24 | 57 | GM | Deepan Chakkravarthy J. | IND | 2483 | 4,0 | 8,0 | 10,7 |
| 25 | 23 | GM | Sethuraman S.P. | IND | 2629 | 4,0 | 8,0 | 2,7 |
| 26 | 142 | WFM | Srija Seshadri | IND | 2166 | 4,0 | 7,5 | 29,2 |
| 27 | 9 | GM | Anton Guijarro David | ESP | 2676 | 3,5 | 13,0 | -4,6 |
| 28 | 20 | GM | Oleksiyenko Mykhaylo | UKR | 2643 | 3,5 | 12,0 | -5,3 |
| 29 | 80 | GM | Laxman R.R. | IND | 2403 | 3,5 | 11,5 | 10,4 |
| 30 | 12 | GM | Iturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo | VEN | 2673 | 3,5 | 11,5 | -4,7 |
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