Aravindh takes Sitges Sunway 2017

Aravindh wins

Sam Shankland second after playoff with Salem Saleh, third

One day before Christmas, the normal (chess) life produced some good news from Catalonia (in contrast to the difficult political conditions on the ground, which we hear so much about). There was something to celebrate for the local Catalans, as their FC Barcelona football squad won the "El Clasico" at Real Madrid 3-0 shortly after the end of the chess tournament in Sitges, a coastal town of about 30,000 located some 35 km to the southwest of the Catalonian capital.

Of course you could follow the game on the pitch...if your game was over in time | Photo: sunwaychessfestival.com

The game between Chithambaram VR Aravindh and Zdenko Kozul was at least as exciting. In a Sicilian, both players had uncompromisingly attacked the opposing king: the Indian (white) on the kingside, the Croatian with black on the queenside. In an extremely difficult tactical situation, youth finally triumphed over age. Kozul had probably seen some tactical motif when he played his 36th move, but it did not pan out for him. The young Indian pounced on his opponent's mistake and assuredly took home the full point:

The Scheveningen Sicilian by Lubomir Ftacnik

The name Sicilian Defence (1.e4 c5) describes a number of systems, each of which could easily be considered as an independent opening. The problems in the Paulsen, Richter Rauzer or Sveshnikov are complex, but the Sicilian pawn structures tie them all together. The Scheveningen Sicilian is central to an understanding of them.

American GM Sam Shankland and GM Salem Saleh from the UAE, finished exactly at their starting rank, in second and third, each with 7 / 9, tied with German IM Matthias Dann. But to get there they had to contest a three-way playoff. Saleh had to first beat Dann to face Shankland in the final two game blitz match.

The first game was drawn, and the second looked to be ending peacefully as well until Saleh overlooked a remarkable geometric nuance at the last moment.

Saleh played 57.Kf5? immediately, only to discover it was practically the only losing move! It's remarkable because it looks so natural —attack both of black's undefended passed pawns. And yet, Ke5 or Kg5 or Bd4 all maintain a draw. The reason is that after Shankland's 57...Kf3! both pawns are running and Saleh's king is no longer in time to help. He needed to pick a side to run around — either e5-d4 or g5-h4 would do, but suddenly he was unable to stop Shankland from queening one of his pawns.

You can replay the complete playoff which was streamed live on Facebook. The action starts at about 15 minutes:

Pity they forgot to switch off the camera which continued streaming for over 2½ hours! | Source: facebook.com/sunwaysitgeschess

It was very strong tournament for Matthias Dann, who finished with a win over Victor Bologan:

The Sicilian Rossolimo for White

The Rossolimo Variation 3.Bb5 is considered to be one of the strongest replies to 2…Nc6 in the Sicilian Defence. The fact that the move has been played by practically all the top players proves its popularity and strength. But the most interesting aspect of playing 3.Bb5 is that we force sharp, attacking players who love to have the initiative to forget about the Open Sicilian and to adjust themselves to a new world, one full of positional ideas, manoeuvres and nuances.

GM Alexander Motylev was the Elo favourite but finished in eigth place, after being knocked out of contention by a loss to Aravindh in the seventh round.

Alexander Motylev (left) from Russia | Photo: sunwaychessfestival.com

The other "big news" was Canadian IM Aman Hambleton achieving his goal of qualifying for the GM title. He swore off shaving until he would score his third GM norm, and had long since entered Castaway territory, but it finally happened for him!

What can we say about @amanhambleton that has not been said yet? We are glad he clinched his last GM norm in our tournament, and we hope to see him next year in Sitges (that he brings his long beard with him again is going to be difficult!) @chessbrahTV @hansenchess @chesscom pic.twitter.com/zfwK1NsenY

— Sunway Chess Open (@SunwayChessOpen) December 24, 2017

Fans of the "Chessbrah" team can now look forward to a live streamed shaving ritual on December 31st!

Official! Finishing 2017 with the GM title and a live rating of 2501 feels amazing. It's been a long journey since I became an IM in 2013 and the support from everyone is noticed and appreciated. Beard shaving stream is on NYE - don't miss it 😎 @SunwayChessOpen @chessbrahTV pic.twitter.com/YqL9swhiyU

— Aman Hambleton (@amanhambleton) December 23, 2017

Update: December 30th — The 2018 festival dates have been accounced:

It's official NOW! We are glad to announce that the 5th edition of Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival will be held from Dec. 14th, 2018, until Dec. 23rd, 2018, in Sitges (Barcelona, Spain). Save the dates! @FIDE_chess @SusanPolgar @chesscom @chess24com @ChessBase pic.twitter.com/3umhcFCJBK

— Sunway Chess Open (@SunwayChessOpen) December 30, 2017

Final standings

... total of 183 Spieler in the A Tournament

All games

Links

• Official site
• Full results (Chess-Results)

Translation from German and additional reporting: Macauley Peterson