New Delhi (29 March 2022) :- Grandmaster and National Champion Arjun Erigaisi came up with another inspired effort and crashed through the defenses of Karthik Venkataraman to annex the 19th Delhi International open chess tournament that concluded here at the Tivoli Gardens.
Starting the day in a five-way lead and having the best tiebreak, Arjun left nothing to chance as he went for an offensive right from the word go in a Sicilian Najdorf game as white and even though Karthik posed some challenge in the middle game, the young National champion romped home easily with some finely crafted manoeuvres.
Arjun got four lakh rupees as the winner’s purse plus a glittering trophy and looks like a sure fire bet for the main team in the forthcoming Chess Olympiad at Chennai as he scaled past 2675 in live Elo ratings. Earlier this month the young man had won the National championship at Kanpur quite easily and that means his winnings this month are ten lakhs in all.
D Gukesh, who had also fought tooth and nail with Arjun in the national championship, defeated last event’s winner Abhijeet Gupta from a level endgame to finish second. The Nimzo Indian by Gukesh as black led to a level endgame but Abhijeet took unwarranted risks leading to his downfall. It was almost the repeat of last round of the National championship when Abhijeet had a similar fate out of the same opening against Gukesh.
Harsha Bharthakoti finished third on tiebreak defeating S P Sethuraman who played black. For the records, Arjun, Gukesh and Harsh all ended up on 8.5 points out of a possible ten.
The caravan now moves to Ahmedabad for the final instalment of the three International events planned in India after a two-year gap.
The Delhi open next year will be a mich bigger event in several categories with Rs. 1.25 Crores as prize money, an announcement made by All India Chess Federation Secretary and Delhi Association President Bharat Singh Chauhan on the opening day of this gala meet.
Important results final round: Abhijeet Gupta (7.5) lost to D Gukesh (8.5); S P Sethuraman (7.5) lost to Harsha Bharathakoti (8.5); Erigaisi Arjun (8.5) beat Karthik Venkataraman (7); Gusain Himal (7.5) drew with M R Lalith Babu (7.5); Tahbaz Arash (7) lost to Nigmatov Ortik (8); P Iniyan (7) drew with Neelash Saha (7.5); Shahil Dey (6.5) lost to Delgado Ramirez Neuris (7.5); Divya Deshmukh (6.5) lost to R R Laxman (7.5); S Nitin (6.5) lost to Rohith Krishna (7.5); Aradhya Garg (6.5) lost to Gholami Orimi Mahdi (7.5).
The top ten: 1-3: Erigaisi Arjun, D Gukesh, Harsha Bharathakoti (8.5 each); 4. Nigmatov Ortik (8); 5-10: S P Sethuraman, Delgado Ramirez Neuris, M R Lalith Babu, Abhijeet Gupta, Neelash Saha, Gholami Orimi Mahdi (7.5 each).
Photos by IA Amit Sharma
Abhijeet Gupta back in joint lead
New Delhi (28 March 2022) :- Defending champion Abhijeet Gupta fought his way back in a five-way lead defeating Poormosavi Seyed Kian of Iran in the ninth and penultimate round of 19th Delhi International open chess tournament now underway here at Tivoli Gardens.
With his sixth victory in a row following a disastrous start, Gupta reached 7.5 points to join overnight leaders Arjun Erigaisi, D Gukesh and Harsha Bharthakoti while S P Sethuraman accounted for Pavel Ponkratov of Russia to match these four on points.
Poormosavi Seyed Kian meanwhile became the first player in the tournament to score an International Master norm. The other norm aspirant is Neelash Saha who needs a victory in the final round to make a Grandmaster norm.
At the top of the tables, Erigaisi Arjun played out an effortless draw as black against Gukesh out of a Sicilian Najdorf where the pieces changed hands right from the early middle game. The players soon reached an endgame where neither side had chances.
Bharthakoti drew with Saha who played white while Sethuraman was at his best in outwitting Ponkratov.
For Gupta it was a good day in the office. The champion of the last 2020 edition won a pawn in the Bishop and pawns endgame. The technicalities were never a problem and Gupta wrapped the issue in 45 moves.
Important Results Round 9 (Indians otherwise stated) :- D Gukesh (7.5) drew with Erigaisi Arjun (7.5); Neelash Saha (7) drew with Harsha Bharathakoti (7.5); Poormosavi Seyed Kian of Iran (6.5) lost to Abhijeet Gupta (7.5); Pavel Ponkratov of Russia (6) lost to S P Sethuraman (7.5); M R Lalith Babu (7) beat Abdisalimov Abdimalik of Uzbekistan (6); N R Visakh (6) lost to Himal Gusain (7); P Iniyan (6.5) drew with Viani Antonio Dcunha (6.5); Saptarshi Roy (6) lost to Karthik Venkataraman (7); Mirzoev Azer of Azerbaijan (6.5) drew with Divya Deshmukh (6.5); P Karthikeyan (6) lost to Tahbaz Arash of Iran (7); Nigmatov Ortik of Uzebkistan (7) beat Borgaonkar Akshay (6); Rohith Krishna S (6.5) drew with N Vignesh (6.5); Aradhya Garg (6.5) drew with Deepan Chakkravarthy (6) Delgado Ramirez Neuris of Praguay (6.5) beat Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka (5.5) Utsab Chatterjee (6.5) beat Mosadeghpour Masoud of Iran (5.5).
Photos by IA Amit Sharma
Arjun, Harsha and Gukesh joint leaders
New Delhi (27 March 2022) :- With just two rounds remaining, the 19th edition of Delhi International Open Grandmasters Chess tournament is heading for an exciting finish as top seed National Champion Arjun Erigaisi along with compatriots Harsha Bharathakoti and D Gukesh are now leading the point table with seven points.
The eighth round of the tournament witnessed fierce battles which produced decisive results on top six boards as Arjun Erigaisi annihilated former national champion Lalith Babu M R in 28 moves arrived out of Scotch game while Harsha shocked second seed Grandmaster Pavel Ponkratov of Russia with light colour pieces in a Semi-Slav game after 58 moves.
Meanwhile the youngest Indian in history to secure the Grandmaster title D Gukesh joined the Telangana duo of Arjun and Harsha at leader board after beating Karthik Venkataraman with dark colour pieces in a Queen’s Gambit Declined game that lasted just 29 moves.
Defending champion Abhijeet Gupta along with fifth seed Sethuraman S P, International Master Neelash Saha and Iranian FIDE Master Kian Seyed Poormosavi are occupying the joint fourth spot with a drift of half point from the leaders. Abhijeet defeated CRG Krishna while Sethu got the better of Ortik Nigmatov of Uzbekistan. Neelash stunned fourth seed Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay and Poormosavi beat Deepan Chakkaravarthy in the eighth-round encounter.
In the all-important penultimate round tomorrow, Arjun pitted against Gukesh on top board while Harsha will fight it out with Neelash Saha.
Important Results Round 8 (Indians otherwise stated) :- GM Arjun Erigaisi (7) beat GM Lalith Babu M R (6); GM Harsha Bharathakoti (7) beat GM Pavel Ponkratov fo Russia (6); GM Karthik Venkataraman (6) lost to Gukesh D (7); GM Sethuraman S P (6.5) beat Ortik Nigamatov of Uzbekistan (6); GM Abhijeet Gupta (6.5) beat IM Krishna CRG (5.5); IM Neelash Saha (6.5) beat GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay (5.5); IM Vignesh N R (6) drew with GM Visakh N R (6); GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (5.5) lost to FM Poormosavi Seyed Kian (6.5); IM Himal Gusain (6) drew with GM Iniyan P (6); IM Abdisalimov Abdimalik (6) drew with GM Azer Mirzoev of Azerbaijan (6); GM Mitrabha Guha (5.5) drew with GM Karthikeyan P (6); GM Arjun Kalyan (5.5) drew with Bharat Kumar Reddy Poluri (5.5); GM Adham Fawzy (5) lost to FM Aardhya Garg (6); IM Arash Tahbaz of Iran (6) beat Manigandan S S (5); WGM Divya Deshmukh (6) beat Syaamnikhil P (5); FM Aaryan Varshney (5.5) drew with Gholami Orimi Mahdi (5.5); WIM Arpita Mukherjee (5) lost to GM Saptarshi Roy (6); WGM Srija Seshadri (5.5) drew with IM Shahil Dey (5.5); IM Viani Antonio Dcunha (6) beat FM Siddhant Gaikwad (5); Shiva Pavan Teja Sharma U (5.5) drew with Utsab Chatterjee (5.5); Akshay Borgaonkar (6) beat IM Ratnakaran K (5); Kian Dishank Shah (5) lost to FM Rohith Krishna S (6); GM Masoud Mosadeghpour of Iran (5.5) beat Pravin Shawn (5); IM Sayantan Das (5.5) beat Vinayak Kulkarani (5.5); GM Rios Christhian Camilo (5.5) beat WIM Michelle Catherina P (5.5).
Photos by Amit Sharma
Arjun back in joint lead
New Delhi (26 March 2022) :- Grandmaster and National Champion Arjun Erigaisi stormed his way back in the joint lead by defeating International Master Shyam Nikhil in the seventh round of the 19th Delhi International open chess tournament now underway here at Tivoli Resort Hotel.
With this victory, he joins Grandmaster Lalith Babu M R and Grandmaster Karthik Venkataraman who drew their game at the top of the table.
International Master Nigmatov Ortik from Uzbekistan also claims his spot at the top of the table after his well-fought draw with Grandmaster Sethuraman S.P.
Grandmaster Gukesh D’s thrilling endgame skills against Iran’s International Master Tahbaz Arash steered him to join the tabletop along with Grandmaster Harsha Bharathakoti who defeated Woman Grandmaster Srija Seshadri.
With the top of the table looking strong and ever so competitive, we can only hope to witness some top-class gameplays and be ready for some good results.
Important Results Round 7 (Indians otherwise stated) :- GM Lalith Babu (6) drew with GM Karthik Venkataraman (6); IM Shyaamnikhil P (5) lost to GM Arjun Erigaisi (6); GM Pavel Ponkratov of Russia (6) beat GM Adham Fawzy of Egypt (5); GM Neuris Delagado Ramirez of Paraguay (5.5) drew with GM Azer Mirzoev of Azerbaijan (5.5); FM Kian Seyed Poormosavi of Iran (5.5) drew with GM Sethuraman S P (5.5); GM Gukesh D (6) beat IM Arash Tahbaz of Iran (5); GM Iniyan P (5.5) drew with IM Vignesh N R (5.5); IM Ortik Nigmatov of Uzebkistan (6) beat GM Arjun Kalyan (5); GM Harsha Bharathakoti (6) beat WGM Srija Seshadri (5); Gholami Orimi Mahdi of Iran (5) lost to GM Abhijeet Gupta (5.5); GM Visakh N R (5.5) beat IM Harshvardhan G B (4.5); IM Srihari L R (4.5) lost to GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (5.5); GM Karthikeyan P (5.5) beat GM Masoud Mosadeghpour of Iran (4.5); GM Mitrabha Guha (5) drew with IM Viani Antonio Dcunha (5); IM Krishna CRG (5.5) beat IM Rahul Sangma (4.5); IM Padmini Rout (4.5) lost to Neelash Saha (5.5); Saurabh Anand (4.5) lost to IM Himal Gusain (5.5); GM Laxman RR (4.5) drew with FM Aaryan Varshney (5); Manigandan SS (5) beat IM Raahul V S (4).
Round-6 :- GM Lalith Babu drew with GM Pavel Ponkratov; GM Arjun Erigaisi drew with GM Harsha Bharathakoti; GM Arjun Kalyan drew with GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez; GM Karthik Venkataraman beat GM Visakh N R; GM Azer Mirzoev drew with GM Iniyan P; GM Sethuraman S P beat GM Saptarshi Roy; IM Shahil Dey lost to GM Gukesh D; GM Deepan Chakkravarthy drew with Karthikeyan P; GM Masoud Modadeghpour drew with Padmini Rout; Rahul Sangma drew with GM Mitrabha Guha; GM Adham Fawzy beat Bharat Kumar Reddy Poluri; IM Arash Tahbaz beat Rohit S; IM Srihari L R drew with IM Krishna CRG; IM Sayantan Das lost to FM Kisan Seyed Poormosavi; WGM Divya Deshmukh lost to IM Ortik Nigmatov; IM Vignesh N R beat Vinayak Kulkarni ; WIM Arpita Mukherjee lost to IM Shyaamnikhil P; IM Abdisalimov Abdimalik drew with WIM Sakshi Chitlange; WGM Srija Seshadri beat GM Laxman RR; IM Praveen Kumar C lost to Gholami Orimi Mahdi.
Photo – GM Karthik Venkataraman by Aditya Sur Roy, ChessBase India & GM Arjun Erigaisi by IA Amit Sharma
Lalith Babu noses ahead
New Delhi (25 March 2022) :- Grand Master and former Commonwealth Champion M R Lalith Babu nosed ahead of the field defeating young International Master Shahil Dey in the fifth round of the 19th Delhi International open chess tournament now underway here at Tivoli Gardens.
With his fifth victory in as many games, Lalith who is coming fresh from winning as many as four international events in different countries, maintained a clean slate at the half way stage of this 25 Lakh prize money tournament.
Arjun Erigaisi’s winning run was halted by fellow P Iniyan who played out a draw with pieces. Arjun now shares the second spot with Iniyan and seven others with 4.5 points apiece. With five rounds still to come, as many as 30 players are on the toes of these nine with four points each in their kitty.
Lalith capitalized on a massive oversight by Shahil Dey. Starting out with the Larsen opening Shahil Dey got an even middle game as Lalith Babu meticulously developed his forces. On the 24th move disaster struck Dey as he thought he was playing the winning move through a Knight sacrifice but overlooked a deft reply that turned the tables immediately. Lalith who has been in exemplary form did not give a second chance and wrapped the issue in 39 moves.
Iniyan employed a topical variation to counter Arjun’s Sicilian Sveshnikov. The middle game was interestingly poised when Iniyan parted with his queen for a two rooks but his earlier sacrifice had meant that Arjun also had an extra pawn. However with a handful of extra pawns Iniyan made another sacrifice to create a brilliant fortress where Arjun’s Queen was helpless against a lone rook. The game was drawn after 41 moves.
Important Results Round 5 (Indians otherwise stated) :- GM Iniyan P (4.5) drew with GM Arjun Erigaisi (4.5); IM Shahil Dey (4) lost to GM Lalith Babu M R (5); GM Visakh N R (4.5) drew with GM Mirzoev Azer of Azerbaijan (4.5); FM Seyed Kiran Poormosavi of Iran (4) lost to GM Arjun Kalyan (4.5); GM Pavel Ponkratov of Russia (4.5) beat IM Neelash Saha (3.5); GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay (4.5) beat IM Harshvardhan GB (3.5); Gholami Orimi Mahadi of Iran (4) drew with GM Sethuraman S P (4); GM Mitrabha Guha (4) drew with IM Srihari L R (4); GM Harsha Bharathakoti (4.5) beat IM Anuj Shrivatri (3.5); GM Karthik Venkataraman (4.5) beat Yashita Rout (3.5); IM Shyaamnikhil P (4) drew with IM Sayantan Das (4); IM Krishna CRG (4) beat FM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka (3.5); GM Gukesh D (4) beat CM Ojasva Singh (3); Manigandan SS (3) lost to Deepan Chakkravarthy J (4); Santu Mondal (3) lost to GM Masoud Mosadeghpour of Iran (4); IM Romesh Weerawardane (3) lost to GM Adham Fawzy of Egypt (4); Shaik Sumer Arsh (3) lost to IM Tahbaz Arash of Iran (4); IM Ortik Nigmatov of Uzbekistan (4) beat Ilamparathi AR (3); Sahib Singh (3) lost to Vignesh N R (4); Ritvik Krishnan (3) lost to IM Abdisalimov Abdimalik (4); Ambesh Pratap Singh (3.5) drew with Himal Gusain (3.5); Sidhant Mohapatra (3.5) drew with Sathvik Adiga (3.5).
Yashita holds Mitrabha; Arjun, Lalith among early leaders
New Delhi (24 March 2022) :- Top seed national champion Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi and former national title holder Grandmaster Lalith Babu M R emerged in a seven-way lead at the top after the end of fourth round of 19th Delhi International Grandmaster Chess tournament now underway here at Tivoli Grand Resort.
Arjun got better off Kushagra Jain without much struggle to register his fourth victory on the trot while Lalith defeated Padmesh in a one-sided affair to find himself in the leading pack along with Arjun, Visakh N R; Iniyan P, Shahil Dey, Azer Mirzoev of Azerbaijan and Seyed Kian Poormosavi of Iran.
With seven players in the front, as many as sixteen players including 13 year old unheralded Yashita Rout of Odisha, who steal the show today when she held Grandmaster Mitrabha Guha, who rated more than 1100 rating points to a creditable draw is occupying the eighth spot with a drift of half point from table leaders.
The fourth round started as a normal tournament after the organisers had opted for the Accelerated pairing system in the first three rounds to enable the norm-seekers have more chances in lieu of more entries.
This paved the way for Yashita to have a look at top level chess.
Earlier in the third round, third seed and five time commonwealth champion Abhijeet Gupta suffered as shock defeat from the hands of Rohith Krishna while Shahil Dey outwitted Iranian Grandmaster Masoud Mosadeghpour.
Round-4 Results (Indians otherwise stated) :- GM Arjun Erigaisi (4) beat Kushagra Jain (3); GM Lalith Babu M R (4) beat Padmaesh M K (3); Aritrya Pal (3) lost to GM Visakh N R (4); Gyaneshwar B (3) lost to GM Iniyan P (4); Yashita Rout (3.5) drew with GM Mitrabha Guha (3.5); GM Azer Mirzoev of Azerbaijan (4) beat Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy (3); Mayukh Majumder (3) lost to IM Shahil Dey (4); Oishik Kundu (3) lost to FM Kian Seyed Poormosavi of Iran (4); GM Sethuramn S P (3.5) beat Shawn Pravin (3); Arshpreet Singh (2.5) lost to GM Pavel Ponkratov of Russia (3.5); Sadbhav Rautela (2.5) lost to GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay (3.5); GM Arjun Kalyan (3.5) beat FM Rohith Krishna S (2.5); Sushrutha Reddy (2.5) lost to GM Harsha Bharathakoti (3.5); Thirunarayanan Sampath Kumar (2.5) lost to GM Karthik Venkataraman (3.5); IM Sayantan Das (3.5) beat WIM Michelle Catherina (2.5); IM Neelash Saha (3.5) beat Dhruva Thota (2.5); Anshul Mehta (2.5) lost to IM Shyaamnikhil P (3.5); Vihaan Dumir (2.5) lost to Gholami Orimi Mahadi of Iran (3.5); IM Harshvardhan G B (3.5) beat Vakcheri Mohitha (2.5); IM Srihari L R (3.5) beat Darshan Sasthaa M (2.5); IM Anuj Shrivatri (3.5) beat Kian Dishank Shah (2.5); FM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan (3.5) drew with Parth Belwal (2.5).
Round -3 : IM Nigmatov Ortik lost to GM Arjun Erigaisi; IM Shyaamnikhil P drew with GM Sethuraman S P; GM Saptarshi Roy lost to GM Lalith Babu M R; GM Visakh N R beat IM Arah Tahbaz; GM Iniyan P beat IM Abdisalimov Abdimalik; IM Shahil Dey beat GM Masoud Mosadeghpour; GM Mitrabha Guha beat IM Himal Gusain; FM Poormosavi Seyed Kian beat GM Adham Fawzy; GM Karthik Venkataraman drew with FM Liyanange Ranindu Dilshan; GM Azer Mirzoev beat WGM Srija Seshadri; GM Pavel Ponkratov beat FM Aaryan Varshney; FM Rohith Krishna beat GM Abhijeet Gupta; GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez beat Saurabh Anand; Padmini Rout drew with GM Deepan Chakkravarthy; IM Manish Anto Cristiano lost to GM Arjun Kalyan; WIM Priyanka K lost to IM Neelash Saha; WIM Sakshi Chitlange drew with IM Vignesh N R; WIM Michelle Catherina beat IM Nitin S.
Gukesh shocked by Ranindu Liyanage of Sri Lanka
New Delhi (23 March 2022) :- India’s youngest ever Grand Master D Gukesh suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of unheralded Ranindu Liyanage of Sri Lanka in the second round of the 19th Delhi International open chess tournament now underway here at Tivoli Grand Resort.
On a day when second seed Pavel Ponkratov of Russia, third seed local star and defending champion Abhijeet Gupta and fourth seed Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay were held to draws by lesser rated opponents, top seed Arjun Erigaisi cruised for his second straight win at the expense of seasoned Grandmaster P Karthikeyan.
For Gukesh it was simply a bad day in office when nothing worked right. Playing the black side of a French defense, the Indian held a comfortable position but it was not easy to convert in to a full point. As the pieces changed hands at regular intervals, Gukesh found the going tough as he kept looking for an elusive victory.
Liyanage kept himself in the game by keeping the position quiet for a long time and later launched an offensive through a rook invasion on the seventh rank in the rook and minor piece endgame. The Sri Lankan got a dangerous passed pawn on the queen side that netted him a full piece and it was all over soon.
Gupta was held to a draw by former National Women’s champion Padmini Rout. Rout had to part with a piece for a couple of pawns out of a London system game as black but her never-say-die approach paid off handsomely in the end. Gupta missed one chance at a crucial juncture and did not get any clear opportunity thereafter despite the extra material. The game was drawn when Gupta decided he could no longer make any headways.
The Delhi open is being played under FIDE’s Swiss rules and there are eight rounds still remaining in the Rupees Twenty Five Lakh prize money tournament.
Important Results Round 2 (Indians otherwise stated):- GM Arjun Erigaisi (2) beat GM Karthikeyan P (1); IM Sidhant Mohapatra (1.5) drew with GM Pavel Ponkratov of Russia (1.5); GM Abhijeet Gupta (1.5) drew with IM Padmini Rout (1.5); IM Anuj Shrivatri (1.5) drew with GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay (1.5); GM Sethuraman S P (2) beat Utasab Chatterjee (1); FM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka (2) beat GM Gukesh D (1); GM Lalith Babu M R (2) beat IM Sai Agni Jeevitesh J (1); IM Ratnakaran K (1) lost to GM Visakh N R (2); GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (1.5) drew with FM Rohith Krishna S (1.5); Dhanjay S (1) lost to GM Iniyan P (1.5); GM Masoud Modadeghpour of Iran (2) beat IM Somak Palit (1); WGM Divya Deshmukh (1) lost to GM Mitrabha Guha (1); GM Arjun Kalyan (1.5) drew with IM Dinesh Sharma (1.5); FM Aaryan Varshney(1.5) drew with GM Harsha Bharathakoti (1.5); GM Adham Fawzy of Egypt (2) beat Rohit S (1); Bharat Kumar Reddy Poluri (1) lost to GM Karthik Venkataraman (2); IM Raahul V S (1) lost to FM Seyed Kian Poormosavi of Iran (2); WIM Arpita Mukherjee (1) lost to GM Azer Mirzoev of Azerbaijan (2); IM Arash Tahbaz of Iran (2) beat FM LMST Desilva of Sri Lanka (1); WGM Srija Seshadri (2) beat IM CRG Krishna (1).
Shivika stuns Laxman
New Delhi (22 March 2022) :- Delhi’s 14 year old Shivika Rohilla came up with an inspired effort to beat Grandmaster RR Laxman in the first round of the 19th Delhi International Grandmasters Chess tournament that go it under way here.
Shivika was at her best in probably her best performance in the career as she matched the Grandmaster move for move for a long time. Laxman enjoyed the advantage through out the game with his white pieces but Shivika was quick to pounce on an opportunity that netted her a fine game. The result was never in doubt thereafter.
Grandmaster Cristhian Camilo Rios of Colombia was held to a draw by FIDE Master Muhammed Shuaau of Maldvies on a day when most of the top seeds sailed through in the opener over their lesser known rivals. Rios found the going tough in the early phase itself and Shuaau was able to pull off a half point without much ado.
National Champion Arjun Erigaisi started the tournament campaign in style beating Manigandan S S and 5-times Commonwealth Champion and defending champion of 2020, Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta made a winning start at the expense of Women International Master Angela Franco Valencia of Colombia while fresh from his title triumph at Guwahati Open, second seed Pavel Ponkratov started event on winning note against Bala Kannamma.
Earlier in the day the event was formally inaugurated by Dr Sanjay Kapoor, President All India Chess Federation and Shri Bharat Singh Chauhan, Hony Secretary of AICF and President of Delhi Chess Association meanwhile announced that the next event will be held 1.25 Crores as prize fund.
Important Result Round -1 (Indians otherwise stated) :- Manigandan SS (0) lost to GM Arjun Erigaisi (1); GM Pavel Ponkartov of Russia (1) beat Bala Kannamma (0); WIM Angela Franco Valencia of Colombia (0) lost to GM Abhijeet Gupta (1); GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay (1) beat Soham Datar (0); FM Joydeep Dutta (0) lost to GM Sethuraman S P (1); GM Gukesh D (1) beat Sudarshan Bhat (0); CM Dhruv Khosla (0) lost to GM Lalith Babu M R (1); GM Visakh N R (1) beat CM Akila Kavinda of Sri Lanka (0); Santu Mondal (0) lost to GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (1); GM Iniyan P (1) beat Indrajeet Mahindrakar (0); Sri Sai Baswanth P (0) lost to GM Masoud Modadeghpour of Iran (1); GM Mitrabha Guha (1) beat FM Purushothaman T (0); Hemanth Raam (0) lost to GM Arjun Kalyan (1); GM Harsha Bharathakoti (1) beat Shiva Pavan Teja Sharma (0); FM Sidhant Gaikwad (0) lost to GM Adham Fawzy of Egypt; GM Karthik Venkatraman (1) beat Vedant Nagarkatte (1); IM Romesh Weerawardane of Sri Lanka (0) lost to IM Raahul VS (1); GM Azer Mirzoev of Azerbaijan (1) beat Soham Bhattacharya (0); Joel Paul Ganta (0) lost to IM Arash Tahbaz of Iran (1).