Arjun Erigaisi convincingly clinches 5th Stepan Avagyan Memorial with a round to spare

Arjun Erigaisi is in outstanding form. He is World no.4 in the live ratings for a reason. His live rating is now 2779.9 which means he is just 15.8 Elo rating points away from surpassing the World no.3 - Fabiano Caruana (USA). In the penultimate round of 5th Stepan Avagyan Memorial, Arjun defeated Volodar Murzin to win the tournament with one round to go. Murzin made a minute error in the rook and minor piece endgame. That's all it took for Arjun to seize his opportunity and win the game. Samuel Sevian (USA) had an opportunity to push for a full point against Manuel Petrosyan (ARM) in the queen and minor piece endgame, but he missed it. Round 9 starts today at 11 a.m. local time, 12:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

Arjun decimates the field

Arjun Erigaisi won 5th Stepan Avagyan Memorial by defeating Volodar Murzin | Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

Stepan Avagyan Memorial will take place from 9th to 18th June 2024 | Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

Stepan Avagyan Memorial Official logo | Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

Arjun - Murzin: 1-0

Arjun Erigaisi (2761) is in such a great form that even if someone makes a minute error, he will punish them. Volodar Murzin (2650) went wrong in the rook and minor piece endgame. He had to pay a very heavy price for it.

Position after 43...Rf8?

43...Rf8? left the b7-pawn vulnerable. 44.Ka4 a discover attack on the pawn Kc6 45.Rb6+ Kc5 Arjun went for the practical 46.Rxb7 although computer suggests 46.Kb3 Nd4+ 47.Bxd4+ Kxd4 48.f4 to be more accurate. Arjun is human and he is not playing against a machine. So, the game continued 46...Kxc4 47.Ra7 Kd5 48.Bb2 Rb8 49.Ba3 Rc8 50.Rxa6 and the passed a-pawn played a key role in earning the victory. Thus, Arjun became a champion with a round to spare.

Arjun Erigaisi reaches 2779.9 - Analysis by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Arjun Erigaisi en route his victory of the game and tournament | Photo: Chess School of Armenia

Arjun Erigaisi is storming towards World Top 3 | Source: 2700chess.com

GM Smbat Lputian, Vice-President, Armenia Chess Federation observes Haik Martirosyan's (ARM) game | Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) had the longest game of the tournament against Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM). It lasted 155 moves | Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

Matthias Bluebaum (GER) - Bogdan Daniel-Deac (ROU): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

Replay Round 8 live stream | Video: Chess Academy of Armenia

Replay Round 8 games

Round 8 results

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Standings after Round 8

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Round 9 pairings

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Time Control

90 minutes for the first 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game (with 30 seconds increment starting from move one).

Prizes

The total prize fund is 7450000 AMD (≈ US$ 18400). The top three prizes are 3100000 AMD (≈ US$ 7976), 1 850 000 AMD (≈ US$ 4760) and 1500000 (≈ US$ 3859). There are also Chessify prizes for all ten participants. The top three Chessify prizes are - bundles worth $350, $300 and $250 each.

Schedule

Sunday 9 June at 19:00 Opening Ceremony Monday 10 June at 15:00 Round 1 Tuesday 11 June at 15:00 Round 2 Wednesday 12 June at 15:00 Round 3 Thursday 13 June at 15:00 Round 4 Friday 14 June at 15:00 Round 5 Saturday 15 June at 15:00 Round 6 Sunday 16 June at 15:00 Round 7 Monday 17 June at 15:00 Round 8 Tuesday 18 June at 11:00 Round 9 Tuesday 18 June at 17:00 Closing Ceremony

Links

Official site

Tournament details

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