IM Rishi Sardana Wins Australian Chess Championship By Two Point Margin
A 9.5/11 score in the recently concluded Australian Chess Championships has seen IM Rishi Sardana claim the title of Australian champion and a $3,000 first prize after 11 rounds of play at Glenunga International High School in Adelaide.
Following an unbeaten performance in the Roma International Chess Festival in December, Sardana kept the momentum rolling and picked up his first Australian title, moving within 30 points of the 2500 FIDE rating required to secure the coveted GM title in the process.
While Sardana's 11 games (see all of the games from the tournament here) were full of highlights, GM Ian Rogers cited his round nine victory over the 13-time Queensland champion IM Stephen Solomon as the most impressive, stating in live commentary: "This will be the position that the papers show."
As the top seed by over 100 rating points, Sardana considered the tournament to be "bad for rating gains", however, his ability to win endgames on the brink of draws meant that his uptick towards 2500 has continued. Check out his conversion against the eventual =2nd-placed getter FM Yi Liu.
For the Indian-born, Canberra resident, an Australian title means he will be seriously considered during selections for the Australian Olympiad teams (the Olympiad will take place in Budapest in September).
Pending performances by Sardana in Australia's strongest calendar events such as The Doeberl Cup, The Ballarat Begonia Open, and several international opens, Sardana may also find himself with a new title, befitting of a player capable of winning The Australian Chess Championships by a two-point margin!
Results
The Ugly, the Bad, and the Good
As far as my tournament was concerned, =7th placed me well above my seeding, though I benefitted from favorable pairings during the back end of the event. A difficult start against Sardana, followed by two defeats at the hands of talented juniors; CM Benjamin Leong and Leah Rice, left me on 0.5/4.
Eventually, I learned to win again and worked my way back to 6/11, scoring a timely win out of the Trompowsky Attack against Vietnamese WIM Hong Anh Nguyen in round 11.
As I'm staying in Adelaide to coach students at the Australian Junior Chess Championships, I will be able to live vicariously through them and ride the ups and downs that chess never fails to provide. The future of Australian chess is bright and sometimes, scarily good!
