Praggnanandhaa, Nandhidhaa in lead
NEW DELHI, 2 Nov: Top-seeded Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa posted a crucial win over compatriot Koustav Chatterjee in the eighth round of the Open section to jump into sole lead of the Asian Continental Chess Championship on Wednesday.
The 53-move victory put Praggu half a point ahead of the field and in a good position to claim the top position.
Five players – Harsha Bharathakoti, SL Narayanan, B Adhiban and Karthik Venkataraman (all India) – and Shamsiddin Vokhidov (Uzbekistan) are on six points.
Grandmaster Bharathakoti was held to a draw by Vokhidov in 30 moves.
Meanwhile, there were wins for Narayanan, Adhiban and Venkataraman. Narayanan scored over Saparmyrat Atabayev (Turkmenistan), the experienced Adhiban beat young GM Leon Luke Mendonca and Venkataraman outlasted Maksat Atabayev, another Turkmenistan player.
In the women’s event, Indian WGM PV Nandhidhaa continued to maintain her lead with seven points after a win over Soumya Swaminathan in 54 moves in the eighth round.
The Tamil Nadu WGM, who is unbeaten so far, is a full point ahead of the rest of the field and a draw would fetch her the top prize.
Two of her compatriots Padmini Rout and Divya Deshmukh are in joint second place with six points. WGM Rout beat WGM Mary Ann Gomes and Deshmukh won a 44-move match against Priyanka Nuttaki.
Nuttaki has 5.5 points as has Thi Kim Phung Vo of Vietnam, while as many six players are on five points. (PTI)