Mumbai Int’l: Balasubramaniam stuns Nguyen Van Huy

The 15-year-old Indian defeats his 33-year-old Vietnamese opponent to occupy the second spot in the points table.

Representative Image: Balasubramaniam has three wins and a draw in the competition so far.

Balasubramaniam H. (ELO rating 2270) defeated Vietnam’s IM Nguyen Van Huy (ELO rating 2438) in a fourth-round contest at the Fourth Mumbai International GM Chess Tournament on Thursday.

Balasubramaniam, ranked 52nd, showed great character and temperament to produce two upsets in a row. The 15-year-old overcame his 33-year-old opponent, ranked 23rd, on the eighth board. This was his third win and he remain unbeaten at the end of four rounds.

THIRD ROUND REPORT

Balasubramaniam’s other two wins were against Bangladesh’s Koshor Shazzad and Russia’s GM Lugovskoy Maxim. He also has a draw — in the second round against Bangladesh GM Rahman Ziaurin. Balasubramaniam’s efforts so far have earned him a performance rating of 2606, an increase of 72 rating points.

Visakh, Sandipan draw

IM Visakh N. R. (2491) and GM Sandipan Chanda (2555), the overnight leaders from India, split a point as the contest between the two finished in a draw on the top board.

Vietnam’s GM Tran Tuan Minh, Bangladesh’s GM Ziaur Rahman, India’s IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh and Iran’s GM Masoud Mosadeghpour were the other players to win their games on the top 10 boards.

After four rounds, six players — GM Sandipan Chanda (IND), Balasubramaniam H. (IND), GM Rahman Ziaur (BAN), GM Tran Tuan Minh (VIE), IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh (IND), and IM Visakh N R (IND) all tally 3.5 points each.

Sandipan and Balasubramaniam, both with better tie-breaker scores, occupy the first and second positions, respectively. Ziaur Rahman follows in third place.

• IM Visakh N. R. (IND, 2491) 3.5 drew with GM Chanda Sandipan (IND, 2555) 3.5;
• GM Aleksandrov Aleksej (BLR, 2590) 3 drew with IM Sardana Rishi (AUS, 2398) ;
• IM Muthaiah Al (IND, 2408) 3 drew with GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J. (IND, 2550);
• GM Tran Tuan Minh (VIE, 2524) 3.5 beat IM Raghunandan Kaumandur Srihari (IND, 2378) 2.5;
• FM Mohammad Fahad Rahman (BAN, 2381) 3 drew with GM Saptarshi Roy (IND, 2494) 3;
• GM Rahman Ziaur (BAN, 2468) 3.5 beat Saurabh Anand (IND, 2246) 2.5;
• IM Kathmale Sameer (IND, 2312) 3 drew with IM Khusenkhojaev Muhammad (TJK, 2455) 3;
• IM Nguyen Van Huy (VIE, 2438) 2.5 lost to Balasubramaniam H. (IND, 2270) 3.5;
• IM Tran Minh Thang (VIE, 2342) 2.5 lost IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh (IND, 2437) 3.5;
• GM Mosadeghpour Masoud (IRI, 2520) 3 beat WIM Varshini V.(IND, 2171) 2.5.

• 1. GM Chanda Sandipan (IND) 3.5 pts,
• 2. Balasubramaniam H. (IND) 3.5,
• 3. GM Rahman Ziaur (BAN) 3.5,
• 4-5. GM Tran Tuan Minh (VIE) 3.5, IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh (IND) 3.5,
• 6. IM Visakh N.R. (IND) 3.5,
• 7. IM Kathmale Sameer (IND) 3,
• 8. GM Aleksandrov Aleksej (BLR) 3,
• 9. IM Muthaiah Al (IND) 3,
• 10. IM Sardana Rishi (AUS) 3.