Delhi Open Chess: GM Gupta beats Nikitenko to head into final round with half-point lead

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Gupta Abhijeet Gupta vs Mihail Nikitenko during Delhi Open Chess. (Special arrangement)

Abhijeet Gupta entered the 21st Delhi International Open as a three-time winner of India’s biggest chess event, one with a ton of experience and pedigree. On Friday, he reinforced his credentials, beating Belarus’s Mihail Nikitenko in an all-important top-of-the-standing clash in the penultimate round at Tivoli Gardens in Chattarpur.

Entering the ninth round as joint leaders with seven points each, Gupta reclaimed the outright lead by overcoming the Belarusian Grandmaster with white pieces. The victory gives the Indian veteran a half-point advantage heading into the final round.

Gupta played the queen’s pawn opening (d4), transitioning into a central pawn push (e4) after Nikitenko’s g6. The game developed along the Standard Line of Modern Defense game, with Gupta gaining a favourable position by the 12th move. His advantage grew significantly when Nikitenko opted for kingside castling.

Nikitenko’s positional inaccuracies combined with Gupta’s precise play proved decisive. Gupta registered six ‘Brilliant’ moves according to Stockfish — an unusually high number that ultimately separated the players. Nikitenko, even after his second loss, finds himself tied for third place and has the most wins (7) alongside Gupta.

The win not only propelled the five-time Commonwealth Chess Champion to eight points but also kept him ahead of second-placed IM Aronyak Ghosh and GM Aditya Sachin Samant (both at 7.5/9).

Ghosh has been impressive throughout the tournament as he chases his elusive third GM norm. The Kolkata IM defeated Maharashtra’s Viresh Sharnarthi — the highest-placed untitled player — in 40 moves with white pieces. He now faces tournament leader Abhijeet Gupta in the final round with black pieces, hoping to finally secure his long-awaited third GM norm.

Round 9 proved anything but smooth for Samant. The Pune grandmaster faced tremendous pressure with black pieces against Aleksej Aleksandrov, with engine evaluation firmly favouring the Belarusian. The Indian appeared to be in trouble after misplacing his queen during an attempted double attack on the white’s knight and rook.

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However, fortunes reversed quickly when Aleksandrov committed a similar queen misplacement — one that proved more costly. Samant capitalised efficiently to claim his sixth victory of the tournament.

The win keeps Samant in the hunt for a top place as he sets up a crucial final-round clash with top seed SL Narayanan. The Indian star finds himself in a 14-way tie for third place (7 points) after being held to his fourth consecutive draw, this time by Armenia’s Mamikon Gharibyan with white pieces.

Grandmasters Diptayan Ghosh and Karthik Venkataraman, along with Sriram Adarsh Uppala, IM S Nitin and IM Neelash Saha, are among the Indian players in contention for the win, tied for third place with seven points each.

In Category C, a tight battle has emerged with two rounds remaining. Tamil Nadu’s Sibi M, Uttar Pradesh’s Ansh Kabra and Rajasthan’s Yajat Vyas are locked in a three-way tie for the lead, each having accumulated 7.5 points from eight rounds.

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The last round will start at 10:00 IST on Saturday for Category A. The Category C, the penultimate round starts at 9:00 and the last round begins at 13:00 hrs.

Standings after Round 9 – Category A

1. GM Abhijeet Gupta (India) – 8.0 pts
2. IM Aronyak Ghosh (India) – 7.5 pts
3. GM Aditya S Samant (India) – 7.5 pts
4. GM Mihail Nikitenko (Belarus) – 7.0 pts
5. GM Mamikon Gharibyan (Armenia) – 7.0 pts
6. GM SL Narayanan (India) – 7.0 pts
7. GM Diptayan Ghosh (India) – 7.0 pts
8. GM Vitaly Sivuk (Ukraine) – 7.0 pts
9. GM Luka Paichadze (Georgia) – 7.0 pts
10. GM Manuel Petrosyan (Armenia) – 7.0 pts

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