FIDE Grand Swiss 2021: Krishnan Sasikiran Shares 2nd Place with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alexei Shirov

Ahmedabad: Indian Chess Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran tied the match with his opponent Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France and secured the 2nd spot in a cut-throat 7th round of the FIDE Grand Swiss Chess open event tournament on Wednesday.

Playing in Najdorf variation of the Sicilian Defence, the Former national champion played White against the Frenchman. Sasikiran and Vachier-Lagrave crossed boundaries and ventured into their opponent’s territory on the 19th move. Sasikiran tactfully defended his crown with his 30 moves. However, the players soon ran out of logical improvements and gameplays, and a draw was declared.

Sasikiran and Vachier-Lagrave ascended the leader board at 5 points in 7 games. The Indian player now shares a joint 2nd place with his opponent Vachier-Lagrave and Spanish Chess player Alexei Shirov. Sasikiran will face World No. 1 teenager Alireza Firouzja in round 8 of the FIDA tournament.

The FIDA Grand Swiss 2021 includes The Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss 2021 as part of The World Chess Championship Cycle 2021-23 qualifiers. 10 Indian men and 5 Indian women are participating in the event. The Top 2 players will qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2022.

(Avya Mathur)