A cut above: Aleksandra Goryachkina and Magnus Carlsen both finished with 7.5 points from nine rounds, two points more than their nearest rivals. | Photo: DEBASISH BHADURI
They were just too good.
Magnus Carlsen and Aleksandra Goryachkina were so good, the final round of the rapid section of the Tata Steel Chess India tournament was only about the runner-up spots. They emerged as the champions at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium on Friday in spectacular style indeed, both finishing with 7.5 points from nine rounds, two points more than their nearest rivals.
Carlsen, in fact, had increased his lead to two points at the end of the eighth round. That is some performance at this level of elite chess.
The World No. 1 had begun the day with just half-a-point lead over Nordibek Abdusattorov though, but his back-to-back wins, and excellent ones at that, over Vincent Keymer and Daniil Dubov, meant the race for the title was over. In sharp contrast, Adbusattorov had lost both his games – to Wesely So and Arjun Erigaisi.
The Uzbek youngster, however, prevented Carlsen from posting his eighth win in a row. But he may not be happy with that draw though – he had a winning position until blundering with his queen on the 38th move.
R. Praggnanandhaa brought some cheer to the full house, as he took the second spot, with 5.5 points, after beating compatriot Arjun in the final round. Wesley So, who also scored 5.5, finished third when the tie-breakers were applied.
In the women’s event, the second-seeded Goryachkina, who had an overnight lead of one point, took a quick draw in the day’s first round, from Koneru Humpy, but scored a crucial win against another Indian rival, Divya Deshmukh, in the next. She finished her campaign with a win against fellow-Russian Valentina Gunina.
Nana Dzagnidze finished second with 5.5 points, while Vantika Agrawal ensured an Indian woman was on the podium. She took third place, with five points.
The results:
Men:
Ninth round: Daniil Dubov (Rus) lost to Vincent Keymer (Ger); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) drew with Magnus Carlsen (Nor); R. Praggnanandhaa bt Arjun Erigaisi; Nihal Sarin drew with Wesley So (USA); Vidit Gujrathi bt S.L Narayanan.
Eighth round: Keymer bt Gujrathi; Narayanan drew with Nihal; So drew with Praggnanandhaa; Arjun bt Abdusattorov; Carlsen bt Dubov.
Seventh round: Carlsen bt Keymer; Dubov drew with Arjun; Abdusattorov lost to So; Praggnanandhaa bt Narayanan; Nihal bt Gujrathi.
The standings: 1. Carlsen 7.5; 2-3. Praggnanandhaa and So 5.5; 4. Abdusattorov 5; 5. Keymer 4.5; 6. Nihal 4; 7-8. Dubov and Arjun 3.5; 9-10. Gujrathi and Narayanan 3.
Women:
Ninth round: Kateryna Lagno (Rus) bt D. Harika; Koneru Humpy drew with R. Vaishali; Divya Deshmukh bt Vantika Agrawal; Valentina Gunina (Rus) lost to Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus); Alexandra Kosteniuk (Swi) drew with Nana Dzagnidze (Geo).
Eighth round: Harika bt Kosteniuk; Dzagnidze lost to Gunina; Goryachkina bt Divya; Vantika bt Humpy; Vaishali bt Lagno.
Seventh round: Vaishali bt Harika; Lagno drew with Vantika; Humpy drew with Goryachkina; Divya lost to Dzagnidze; Gunina lost to Kosteniuk.
The standings: 1. Goryachkina 7.5; 2. Dzagnidze 5.5; 3. Vantika 5, 4-6. Lagno, Harika and Gunina 4.5; 7-9. Divya, Vaishali and Kosteniuk 3.5; 10. Humpy 3.
EOM
Published – November 15, 2024 08:14 pm IST