In the seventh round of the A Open at the 52nd International Dortmund Chess Days, the eagerly awaited German grandmaster duel on board one between Luis Engel and Matthias Blübaum ended in a draw.
Engel avoided a draw and tried everything to get the full point, but Blübaum, two-time European champion, defended himself confidently and held on to the half point without any major problems. ‘The result is okay,’ Engel (photo) commented calmly after the game.
There were also draws between the direct rivals on boards two and three, which meant that little changed at the top of the table. Surya Ganguly received an early draw offer from his young opponent Khuong Duy Dau (14 years old).
‘I could have continued playing for another 1.5 hours, but in the end it would have ended in a draw with unequal-coloured bishops, so we saved our energy,’ commented the Indian grandmaster.
On board four, however, national player Dmitrij Kollars was able to reduce his deficit to the leaders: with a convincing performance, he defeated Adrian Gschnitzer in just 20 moves. With 5.5 points from 7 games, he is now back in the chasing pack behind Blübaum and Engel. On board five, the game between Jumabayev and Wang also ended in a draw after a repetition of moves.
This means that the outcome of the A Open remains completely open. The final rounds will take place on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m.