Chess (#1222)
The chess open there has gained much traction over the years. It always draws high female participation because it has decent prizes for women
 "Chess (#1222)")
The Isle of Man (IoM) has always been beloved of ailurophiles since the local cats famously lack tails (so do some Japanese feline breeds). It's also an important financial services centre with a low tax rate (less than half that of mainland UK) and easy incorporation rules.
The chess open there has gained much traction over the years. It always draws high female participation because it has decent prizes for women. It also draws young hopefuls looking for Elo and for norms. This year's field was absolutely stellar. Three members of the world Top 10 (the top boards of the gold-medallist US Olympiad team), and another half-dozen players in the 2700 range made the top league of the three-tier Swiss Open very competitive.
Pavel Eljanov climbed into the lead and stayed just ahead of the field going into the last round when he held an easy draw against Wesley So to guarantee at least a share of first. On board 2, Fabiano Caruana determinedly grafted a win against Michael Adams. Caruana and Eljanov (both 7.5) shared first place with Arkadij Naiditsch (7) on third. Alexei Shirov, David Howell and Salem Saleh all shared 4th (6.5 each). Caruana will gain 10 Elo - enough to push him to 2823, and clear #2 on the list. Eljanov gains 15 Elo and comes to #16 with 2756.
The fast-improving Vidit Gujrathi (2689) and the 17-year-old GM, 2564-Elo Aravindh Chithambaram (both 6) were part of the strong Indian contingent, being the highest scorers. But the headlines came from several others. Dronavalli Harika (5.5) was the highest-scoring woman and she beat the reigning world champion, Hou Yifan. The 11-year-old prodigy Praggnanandhaa (5.5) also caused a few waves. He slammed Axel Bachmann (2645) in a last-round miniature that may make anthologies.
The IoM gave way to the Millionaire Chess in Atlantic City , New Jersey. The "Millionaire" (which has a prize fund of about $300,000) starts with a Swiss 7-rounder, which qualifies the top four players in every section for the big league. The non-qualifiers play out a 9-round Swiss while the qualifiers move into a knockout stage. Dariusz Swiercz took the top section beating Gawain Jones in the final. Swiercz won $30,000 for his efforts.
The DIAGRAM, BLACK TO PLAY (White: Axel Bachmann Vs Black: Praggnanandhaa, Isle of Man 2016). The Kt-a2 is under threat but white's development is under-par and black senses attacking chances. 13...Qxd5! 14.Na3 [ Or 14.Nc3 Nxc3+ 15.Qxc3 Ba6; Or 14.Nc7 Qb7! 15.Bxc4 (15.Nxa8! c3 wins) 15...Rb8 16.Nb5 Be6! 17.Bxa2 Bxa2+ 18.Kxa2 Qxb5 wins]. Now it's slaughter after 14...c3! 15.bxc3 Rb8+ 16.Ka1 Qa5 17.Kxa2 Nd5! 18.Ne2 Be6 (0-1). White doesn't wait for [18...Be6 19.c4 Nb4+ 20.Kb2 Nd3+ 21.Ka2 Bxc4+ 22.Ka1 Qxa3#].
The chess open there has gained much traction over the years. It always draws high female participation because it has decent prizes for women. It also draws young hopefuls looking for Elo and for norms. This year's field was absolutely stellar. Three members of the world Top 10 (the top boards of the gold-medallist US Olympiad team), and another half-dozen players in the 2700 range made the top league of the three-tier Swiss Open very competitive.
Pavel Eljanov climbed into the lead and stayed just ahead of the field going into the last round when he held an easy draw against Wesley So to guarantee at least a share of first. On board 2, Fabiano Caruana determinedly grafted a win against Michael Adams. Caruana and Eljanov (both 7.5) shared first place with Arkadij Naiditsch (7) on third. Alexei Shirov, David Howell and Salem Saleh all shared 4th (6.5 each). Caruana will gain 10 Elo - enough to push him to 2823, and clear #2 on the list. Eljanov gains 15 Elo and comes to #16 with 2756.
The fast-improving Vidit Gujrathi (2689) and the 17-year-old GM, 2564-Elo Aravindh Chithambaram (both 6) were part of the strong Indian contingent, being the highest scorers. But the headlines came from several others. Dronavalli Harika (5.5) was the highest-scoring woman and she beat the reigning world champion, Hou Yifan. The 11-year-old prodigy Praggnanandhaa (5.5) also caused a few waves. He slammed Axel Bachmann (2645) in a last-round miniature that may make anthologies.
The IoM gave way to the Millionaire Chess in Atlantic City , New Jersey. The "Millionaire" (which has a prize fund of about $300,000) starts with a Swiss 7-rounder, which qualifies the top four players in every section for the big league. The non-qualifiers play out a 9-round Swiss while the qualifiers move into a knockout stage. Dariusz Swiercz took the top section beating Gawain Jones in the final. Swiercz won $30,000 for his efforts.
The DIAGRAM, BLACK TO PLAY (White: Axel Bachmann Vs Black: Praggnanandhaa, Isle of Man 2016). The Kt-a2 is under threat but white's development is under-par and black senses attacking chances. 13...Qxd5! 14.Na3 [ Or 14.Nc3 Nxc3+ 15.Qxc3 Ba6; Or 14.Nc7 Qb7! 15.Bxc4 (15.Nxa8! c3 wins) 15...Rb8 16.Nb5 Be6! 17.Bxa2 Bxa2+ 18.Kxa2 Qxb5 wins]. Now it's slaughter after 14...c3! 15.bxc3 Rb8+ 16.Ka1 Qa5 17.Kxa2 Nd5! 18.Ne2 Be6 (0-1). White doesn't wait for [18...Be6 19.c4 Nb4+ 20.Kb2 Nd3+ 21.Ka2 Bxc4+ 22.Ka1 Qxa3#].
Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player