Vugar Rasulov wins Play for Durgesh Fundraiser Open

by Shahid Ahmed - 25/09/2020

360 players from all over the world participated in Play for Durgesh Fundraiser Online Blitz Open. Over 11 lacs funds were raised which we have already mentioned a few days ago. Four players finished at 8.0/9, Vugar Rasulov, Terry Renato, Harsha Bharathakoti and Vugar Asadli. They were placed first to fourth according to their tie-breaks. The entire prize of ₹50000 was sponsored by Durgesh's good friend Sushrutha Reddy under the aegis of United Karnataka Chess Association. Lucky prizes were added to the donation as the tournament had to be truncated by one round due to technical issues. Photo: Azeri news

Four players finish at 8.0/9

GM Vugar Rasulov (AZE), IM Terry Renato (PER), GM Harsha Bharathakoti (IND) and GM Vugar Asadli (AZE) scored 8.0/9. Rasulov won the tournament due to better tie-breaks, Terry, Harsha and Asadli were placed second to fourth according to the tie-breaks. Prior to the tournament, former National Junior Champion GM Harsha Bharathakoti had already requested to donate his entire prize winnings, no matter whatever he wins and he won a handsome ₹7000. GM Shardul Gagare, IM Leon Mendonca Luke and IM Arghyadip Das also donated their entire prize winnings. World no.10 and Dutch no.1 GM Anish Giri was the star attraction of the event as he played and live streamed the event. Reigning National Under-17 girls champion Samriddhaa Ghosh created a few records for a ChessBase India Online Blitz Open.

Durgesh's very good friend Sushrutha Reddy under the aegis of UKCA sponsored the entire prize fund

Total 360 players including 9 GMs and 11 IMs participated from India, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Canada, England, Germany, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia and USA in this 9-Round Swiss League event.

Boobyfisher beats Giri

World no.10 and Dutch no.1 Anish Giri was the star attraction of the event | Photo: Amruta Mokal

He started well with 6.0/6, but due to technical issues, Round 6 had to be restarted. Giri was away from computer thus he lost valuable time which affected his game.

Giri - Boobyfisher, Round 6

Position after 21.Rd2

21.Rd2 is not incorrect, however white needs to be careful about something. What is it?

Position after 37.Bd2

Surprisingly the biggest error of the game also happened at the d2-square. Find out why 37.Bd2 is a blunder.

IM Leon Mendonca Luke who is on the brink of becoming India's next GM, might have scored 7.0/9 and finished 8th, but his biggest takeaway from the tournament is playing against World no.10 and Dutch no.1 Anish Giri twice and scoring his first ever victory against him.

Leon scored his first victory against one of the best in the world Anish Giri | Photo: Niki Riga

GM Vugar Rasulov scored 8.0/9 to win Play for Durgesh Fundraiser Blitz Open | Photo: Azeri news

Battle of the Azerbaijanis

In Round 8, GM Vugar Rasulov of Azerbaijan scored a clinical win over compatriot IM Kanan Garayev

KananGarayev - Rasulov Vugar, Round 8

Position after 10.b3

Delaying castle presented black an opportunity after 10.b3. How can black capitalize on it?

Replay all games of Vugar Rasulov

Runner-up IM Terry Renato of Peru 8.0/9

Terry's great win over Giri

TerryR (IM Terry Renato) of Peru might not have won the tournament, but he got the best thing he could ask for and that is to beat World no.10 GM Anish Giri.

TerryR - Anish Giri, Round 7

Position after 19...Ng8

Find out how should white continue after 19...Ng8.

Replay all games of Terry Renato

3rd GM Harsha Bharathakoti 8.0/10, he donated his entire prize fund of ₹7000 | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Raceking halts Boobyfisher

RACEKING (GM Harsha Bharathakoti) handed Boobyfisher (IM Leon Mendonca) his second consecutive loss.

RACEKING - Boobyfisher, Round 9

Position after 21.c4

Find out the best continuation for black after 21.c4. Black made the inaccuracy with 21...h6. Try to find out why it is a mistake.

Replay all games of Harsha Bharathakoti

Samriddhaa creates record

9th Samriddhaa Ghosh 7.0/9 | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Reigning National and West Bengal State Under-17 Girls champion Samriddhaa Ghosh made a fantastic start with 5.0/5, finished with 7.0/9 and was placed tenth. She is the first woman to score 5.0/5 and finish in top 10 among all ChessBase India Online Blitz events held this year. She also finished higher than top seed and only woman to finish in top 50 in this event. Her best win was against Goa's latest IM Ameya Audi.

Samriddhaa - Audi_S_Tesla, Round 7

Position after 21.Ke3

21.Ke3 looks a bit awkward for white. Find out why so.

Replay the Live stream

Blitz Tournament fundraiser for Durgesh by ChessBase India | Video: Anish Giri

Save Durgesh | Blitz fundraiser | Live commentary and Video: IM Sagar Shah

Final Standings

Main Prize winners (Top 25)

Rank	Name	Points	Prize
1	GM Vugar Rasulov	8	₹10000
2	IM Terry R	8	₹8000
3	GM Harsha Bharathakoti	8	₹7000
4	GM Vugar Asadli	8	₹5000
5	IM Arjun Kalyan	7.5	₹3000
6	IM Kanan Garayev	7.5	₹2000
7	IM Aronyak Ghosh	7.5	₹1000
8	IM Leon Mendonca	7	₹1000
9	GM Shardul Gagare	7	₹1000
10	Samriddhaa Ghosh	7	₹1000
11	GM Anish Giri	7	₹500
12	GM Laxman R R	7	₹500
13	IM Francesco Sonis	7	₹500
14	IM Mitrabha Guha	7	₹500
15	IM Bala Chandra Prasad	7	₹500
16	Andrzej Stuczynski	7	₹500
17	FM Dushyant Sharma	7	₹500
18	GM Girish Koushik	7	₹500
19	Arunava Bhattacharjee	7	₹500
20	FM Aaryan Varshney	7	₹500
21	Sanket Chakravarthy	7	₹500
22	S Srujan Keerthan	7	₹500
23	IM Arghyadip Das	6.5	₹500
24	Arpith S Bijoy	6.5	₹500
25	Aaron Reeve	6.5	₹500

The criteria for Lucky Prizes is to play in all rounds. Since the tournament got truncated by one round due to technical issues, the lucky prizes were added to the donation.