Sasikiran Catches Gopal on 6/7 at Tegernsee, Svane Among 21 on 5½

After round seven of the Open International Bavarian Chess Championship in Tegernsee, two Indian grandmasters share the lead on 6 points. Krishnan Sasikiran beat his compatriot Rithvik Raja to catch G.N. Gopal, who drew with Elham Amar on the top board.

The first five boards all ended in draws this time, which let Gopal keep his edge over most pursuers. Sasikiran was the exception, winning and moving level.

A tough path to the top

The tiebreaks are close. Sasikiran’s opponents averaged 2413 and Gopal’s 2411. Their performance ratings are nearly identical too, 2677 for Sasikiran and 2676 for Gopal.

Both are seeded well below the top. Sasikiran is 13th at 2520 and Gopal 10th at 2530, while the top seed, Frederik Svane (2662), sits third on 5½. Rithvik Raja, seeded 14th at 2519, dropped to 5 points.

A crowded chasing pack

Svane is half a point back after drawing with Black against Adrian Gschnitzer on board two. Leonardo Costa drew with Roven Vogel, and Alexander Donchenko beat Moritz Weishaeutel to join them on 5½. In all, 21 players are on that score, among them Emre Can, Nijat Abasov, Kacper Piorun and Jaime Santos Latasa.

That is a lot of players within reach of the lead with two rounds to go. A single result in round eight could reshuffle the top considerably, and the leaders will probably meet strong opposition again under Swiss pairings.

Svane’s save against Gschnitzer

Gschnitzer, an IM rated 2419, got an advantage against the top seed. In the endgame he captured a pawn with check, and that move gave Svane the chance to get back into the game.

By then the material was uneven: Gschnitzer had a rook, bishop and five pawns against Svane’s two rooks and three pawns. After 45.Bxe5+ Kg8 46.Bf6 Rxe4+, Black’s active rooks were enough to win or trade all but two of White’s pawns. The players agreed a draw.

Svane showed patience in a complicated position. In the final position he could still have taken the b-pawn, but neither side saw a way to win.

Women and what’s next

The two highest-placed women are Maria Tsakona (47th) and Kateryna Dolzhykova (49th), both on 5 points. The field numbers 548 players.

The penultimate round was played on Saturday, and the ninth and final round is on Sunday, 8 November.