Crossing the halfway point of a competition is like crossing the Rubicon. There is no turning back now. Any mistake can take someone out of the competition and the boundaries between those who are in the running for the title and those who are not begin to be drawn and delimited. In this sense, the fifth day of the Llobregat Open Chess was characterized by more intense and longer games. The tension was palpable in the atmosphere and the referees had to intervene in some clashes between chess players.
The blood has not reached the river and the competition has moved inexorably forward. In terms of results, SL Naranayan -ELO 2,626- won a hard-fought victory over P. Iniyan -ELO 2,497-, which brings him to the group of players at the top of the ranking. In this select club we find Arjun Erigaisi -ELO 2,544-, who has defeated the Icelandic Gudmundur Kjartansson -ELO 2,448- and consolidates his first place, and also the Spanish Alvar Alonso, the main national asset who has drawn again today, this time against Rithvik Raja -ELO 2,381-, at the time also one of those with the best chances of winning the tournament.
The focus of attention this day was also on the game between Evgeny Zanan -ELO 2,493- and Abhimayu Puranik -ELO 2-580-, another of the chess players with options for first place, whose game ended in a draw.
The other two most powerful Spanish players, Salvador del Río and Julen Luis Arizmendi, finished today in a draw with Prasad Dhulipallah and Cyrus Low, both with lower ELO, as well as Alfonso Jerez -ELO 2.369-, who also drew with Venkataraman Karthik -ELO 2.470-. Finally, Marc Narciso won against Gupta Sankalp.
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About Llobregat Open Chess
The Llobregat Open Chess is an international chess tournament held from December 3 to 11 at the CEM Estruch in El Prat de Llobregat. It has more than 200 registered participants from some forty countries around the world. Among the best players in the tournament, the presence of international and Spanish champions stands out, such as Karen Movsziszian, Armenian and World Veteran Champion with an ELO of 2,491 points; D. Gukesh, from India, U12 World Champion and second youngest Grandmaster in history with a FIDE average of 2,520 points; or Gabriel del Río, absolute champion of Spain and with an ELO of 2,478.520 points; or Gabriel del Rio, absolute champion of Spain and with an ELO of 2,478, in addition to the French Maxime Lagarde, champion of France, and Edouard Romain, with titles of European and French champion to his credit and an ELO of 2,651. Among the Spanish participants is the very young Diego Vergara, U12 state champion with an ELO of 2,138.
