29th Abu Dhabi Masters 2023 R8: Prraneeth Vuppala wins five in-a-row
GM Aravindh Chithambaram made a quick 16-move draw a gainst GM Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) in the penultimate round of 29th Abu Dhabi Masters 2023. India's 82nd GM Prraneeth Vuppala scored his fifth win in-a-row. In the eighth round, he defeated GM Aryan Chopra who was having a fantastic event until now. Prraneeth seized his opportunity in the major piece endgame when his opponent made an inaccuracy. Later, he brought his king into the attack and scored a beautiful victory. Both Aravindh and Prraneeth are the only two Indians who are trailing the tournament leaders Fedoseev and GM Xiangyu Xu (CHN) by a half point at 6/8 each. Final Round 9 starts today at 10 a.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy
Fedoseev or Xiangyu - Who will become the champion?
Prraneeth - Aryan: 1-0
The sole encounter between GM Prraneeth Vuppala (2485) and GM Aryan Chopra (2641) ended in a draw earlier this year, before Prraneeth became a GM.
White had a better position in the major piece endgame. The e6-passed pawn made things more difficult for Black. 40...d4 helped White 41.Qa8+ Kh7 42.Qe4+ g6 43.cxd4 Kg7 44.Rd5 Qf2 45.Qe5+ Kh7 46.Qe4 Qf1+ 47.Kg4 Qd1+ 48.Kf4 Qc1+ 49.Ke5 Qc7+ 50.Kf6 Kg8 51.Qxg6+ Rg7 52.Qe8+ Kh7 53.Rd7 and it's over.
Final position looks beautiful. Prraneeth brought his king into the attack and did what the position demanded him to.
Hari Madhavan - Rithvik
30.Kf2 not only protects the g2-pawn but also makes a tactical threat which GM Raja Rithvik R (2502) missed as he went 30...Rh1. Find out what it is. IM Hari Madhavan N B (2418) found and executed it to win the game.
For more Round 8 photos, please click here.
Video Gallery
A total of 145 players including 41 GMs, 54 IMs, 6 WGMs and 3 WIMs are taking part from 22 countries across the world. The tournament is being organized by Abu Dhabi Chess Club & Mind Games from 16th to 24th August 2023 at Radisson Blu Hotel & Resort in Abu Dhabi Corniche Abu Dhabi, UAE. The nine-round Swiss league tournament has a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.
Replay Round 8 games
Round 8 results
Standings after Round 8
Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
1 | 18 | GM | Xu, Xiangyu | CHN | 2608 | 6,5 | 0,5 | 36,5 | 32,5 | |
2 | 4 | GM | Fedoseev, Vladimir | SLO | 2676 | 6,5 | 0,5 | 36 | 32 | |
3 | 10 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2645 | 6 | 0 | 35,5 | 31,5 | |
4 | 19 | GM | Lu, Shanglei | CHN | 2598 | 6 | 0 | 35 | 31 | |
5 | 3 | GM | Matlakov, Maxim | RUS | 2677 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 29,5 | |
6 | 6 | GM | Niemann, Hans Moke | USA | 2660 | 6 | 0 | 32,5 | 29 | |
7 | 42 | IM | Prraneeth, Vuppala | IND | 2485 | 6 | 0 | 32 | 28 | |
8 | 71 | FM | Atakhan, Abtin | IRI | 2414 | 5,5 | 0 | 36,5 | 32,5 | |
9 | 59 | IM | Abdisalimov, Abdimalik | UZB | 2438 | 5,5 | 0 | 36,5 | 32 | |
10 | 1 | GM | Artemiev, Vladislav | RUS | 2698 | 5,5 | 0 | 36 | 32,5 | |
11 | 46 | IM | Assaubayeva, Bibisara | KAZ | 2469 | 5,5 | 0 | 33,5 | 30 | |
12 | 14 | GM | Murzin, Volodar | FID | 2631 | 5,5 | 0 | 33,5 | 29,5 | |
13 | 8 | GM | Narayanan.S.L, | IND | 2656 | 5,5 | 0 | 33,5 | 29,5 | |
14 | 27 | GM | Kobalia, Mikhail | FID | 2547 | 5,5 | 0 | 32 | 28,5 | |
15 | 11 | GM | Aryan, Chopra | IND | 2641 | 5 | 0 | 37 | 33,5 | |
16 | 7 | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | UZB | 2659 | 5 | 0 | 36,5 | 32 | |
17 | 25 | GM | Li, Di | CHN | 2561 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 32 | |
18 | 39 | GM | Chanda, Sandipan | IND | 2491 | 5 | 0 | 35,5 | 32,5 | |
19 | 23 | GM | Suleymanli, Aydin | AZE | 2586 | 5 | 0 | 35,5 | 31,5 | |
20 | 2 | GM | Anton Guijarro, David | ESP | 2693 | 5 | 0 | 35,5 | 31 |