Melkumyan wins O2C Doeberl Cup, Deep and Kunte finish tied third

by Shahid Ahmed - 24/04/2019

Top seed of the tournament, Armenia no.3 GM Hrant Melkumyan won O2C Doeberl Cup Premier 2019 in Canberra, Australia. He scored 7.5/9 to finish a half-point ahead of the runner-up FM Raymond Song of Australia. Indian GMs Deep Sengupta and Abhijit Kunte finished tied at the third place along with GM Anton Smirnov of Australia at a score of 6.5/9 . The only other Indian to participate in this tournament, reigning Asian Continental Women's Champion IM Padmini Rout scored 5.5/9 and finished at 10th position. She won the 'Best Female player' prize. The tournament was first organized in 1963. The report contains games, photos and interviews. Photo: Chesslife

Hrant Melkumyan triumphs in the land Down Under

Armenia no.3 GM Hrant Melkumyan receives the beautiful trophy | Photo: Chesslife

In the penultimate round Melkumyan faced Deep Sengupta and he equalized with Black pieces easily out of the opening Ruy Lopez Berlin Defence. However in a seemingly equal endgame, Deep missed a small trick which Melkumyan also missed and eventually he won.

What is the best continuation for White here?

White just played 47.b3 and now Black has a golden opportunity. What did Black miss here?

GM Deep Sengupta scored 6.5/9 and finished 3rd | Photo: Chesslife

Deep Sengupta talks about playing in Australia, how his tournament went and more| Video: Chesslife

After finishing joint first in 19th BCC Open, Deep continued his momentum in Australia and finished at the 2nd runner-up position. His best clinical win was in round 3 against Matthew Clarke of Australia.

GM Abhijit Kunte played some solid chess and finished at tied third position with a score of 6.5/9 | Photo: Chesslife

GM Abhijit Kunte talks about playing in Australia, why he loves playing there and more | Video: Chesslife

In round 3 against Brodie McClymont of Australia, Kunte played a very instructive game with black pieces in Sicilian Kan and earned a victory.

IM Padmini Rout scored 5.5/9, finished at 10th position. She won the Best Female player prize | Photo: Chesslife

Padmini talks about her first visit to Australia, the strength of the players and more | Video: Chesslife

Padmini made a brilliant start with a score of 3.5/4 and she got into five-way lead. However consecutive losses in round 6 and 7, prevented her from a better finish. Her best win was against IM Xie George Wendi in round 3 when she trapped her opponent's queen in the middle of the board.

It is always a delight to trap your Queen's at the middle of the board

All Prize winners in one frame | Photo: Chesslife

Final Standings after 9 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	w-we	K	rtg+/-
1	1	GM	Melkumyan Hrant	ARM	2658	7,5	39,0	50,5	40,00	0,04	10	0,4
2	16	FM	Song Raymond	TPE	2329	7,0	42,0	52,0	38,75	3,62	20	72,4
3	3	GM	Sengupta Deep	IND	2551	6,5	42,0	54,5	37,50	0,10	10	1,0
4	2	GM	Smirnov Anton	AUS	2567	6,5	40,5	51,5	34,25	0,04	10	0,4
5	4	GM	Kunte Abhijit	IND	2485	6,5	35,0	45,0	30,00	-0,31	10	-3,1
6	6	IM	Bjelobrk Igor	AUS	2386	6,0	39,0	50,0	31,50	1,06	10	10,6
7	9	IM	Tao Trevor	AUS	2364	6,0	35,0	44,5	26,25	-0,06	10	-0,6
8	24		Clarke Matthew	AUS	2113	6,0	30,5	39,5	23,50	0,78	40	31,2
9	12	IM	Lane Gary W	AUS	2357	5,5	39,5	50,0	27,75	0,39	10	3,9
10	8	IM	Padmini Rout	IND	2364	5,5	38,0	49,5	25,75	0,51	10	5,1
11	7	GM	Johansen Darryl K	AUS	2364	5,5	38,0	49,0	26,25	1,11	10	11,1
12	18	FM	Puccini Jack	AUS	2261	5,5	34,5	45,5	26,00	0,03	20	0,6
13	28		Pirotais Jerome	FRA	2075	5,5	32,0	41,0	22,50	1,27	20	25,4
14	5	IM	Ikeda Junta	AUS	2441	5,0	38,5	48,5	23,00	-1,36	10	-13,6
15	36	CM	Lam Ross	AUS	2000	5,0	35,5	44,5	23,00	1,75	20	35,0

Complete final standings

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