The final stage of the chess tournament started today, with three winners of the pool stage making it into the finals. The match up was Zakir Husain College vs DU’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC). Four games were happening simultaneously on four chessboards, with one player from each team playing against a player of the opposing team.
Those playing on the first board ended the game in a stalemate; though Zakir Husain’s player was slightly better off in terms of pieces and their positioning, a small inaccuracy towards the endgame allowed his opponent to scrape a stalemate. This was the longest of the four games that were played, clocking around 3.5 hours in total.
In contrast, those playing on the second board were the first to finish their match, this time with a clear win to SRCC. The SRCC player Harshal Shahi, a FIDE Master playing on the black pieces, won by checkmate after 24 moves. The opening was played well, with black going for a Sicilian Defence (Kalashnikov variation): 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. A few mistakes early on by white gave the game to black, who won by coordinating his bishop, knight and rook to trap the white king.
For the interested, Sicilian defence is 1. e4 c5. It is one of the most popular responses to 1. e4. The primary idea behind the Sicilian is to assert control over the central d4-square, but with a pawn from the side. It creates an imbalance and does not give white a central target immediately. It usually leads to some sharp lines and a dynamic game. The moves of the Kalashnikov variation are: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6.
On the third board was SRCC’s star player, Rishi Sardana. He is an International Master with a FIDE rating of 2402, and was playing on the white pieces. White played the London System, an opening that is gaining a lot of attention in modern chess circles. It typically leads to closed games where positional play and maneouvring take precedence over tactical play. This game was one such example. It went on for 47 moves, with white maintaining a small advantage until the 43rd one. At that point, black made a move that turned out to be an inaccuracy – and resigned four moves later.
The fourth board went to SRCC as well, who played as black. The first ten moves of the opening proceeded along regular lines, until white blundered a pawn early on. The game continued after that, but with passive play on both sides and a with a material advantage for black, it would have been very difficult for white to scrape a win. White did try for a draw, but was unsuccessful. The game lasted for approximately two hours.
In summary, three of the games played in the first match of the finals league were claimed by SRCC, and the last game was a draw, making SRCC the overall winners of this round.