FIDE Master R Raja Rithvik produced a spirited performance to defeat GM Neverov Valeriy in the fifth round of the 11th Mumbai Mayor’s International Chess Tournament 2018 on Wednesday.
FM Raja Ritvik (ELO rating 2296) started with Kings Knight opening which got converted into vade defence. On the 19th move instead of exchanging the pawns, Valeriy blocked the position on the queen’s side. Taking advantage of this Ritvik attacked from the king side. On 30th move, Valeriy tried to force a draw by repeating the position on board. After exchanging the queen, Ritvik got an active bishop in the end game.
At a crucial juncture in the game, Ritvik looked like he had a clear winning position but he was not able to go for the kill. Ritvik got another shot at victory on the 73rd move when Valeriy lost focus and faltered on his move, this time Ritvik kept his composure and ultimately finished the game in the 76th move.
Meanwhile, E Arjun continued his fine form in the tournament as he held the top seed Kravtsiv Martyn (ELO 2662, UKR) to a draw. The game started in the French defence, and both the players were matching move for move. After a lot of back and forth, they eventually decided to settle for a draw after 42 moves.
On the 2nd board, Vietnamese GM Tran Tuan Minh (ELO 2514) who started with Queens Indian Defence against GM Rozum Evan (ELO 2581) could not find any openings against the strong defence of the Russian. They went back and forth trying all possible moves and both the players had to be content with a draw after the 73rd move.
ROUND 5 RESULTS:
GM Kravtsiv Martyn (2662, UKR) drew with FM Erigaisi Arjun (2505, IND) 4-4;
GM Tran Tuan Minh (2514, VIE) drew with GM Rozum Ivan (2581, RUS) 4-3½;
GM Amonatov Farrukh (2605, TJK) bt IM Tran Minh Thang (2383, VIE) 3½-3½;
IM Siva Mahadevan (2346, IND) drew with GM Sandipan Chanda (2571, IND) 3½-3½;
Neelash Saha (2333, IND) drew with GM Tukhaev Adam (2557, UKR) 3½-3½;
GM Burmakin Vladimir (2528, RUS) drew with IM Sidhant Mohapatra (2370, IND) 3½-3½;
FM Raja Rithvik R (2296, IND) bt GM Neverov Valeriy (2492, UKR) 3½-3½;
FM Karthik Venkataraman (2475, IND) drew with Saravana Krishnan P (2359,IND) 3 1/2- 3
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!