Sasikiran grabs sole lead

AUG 25: Nineteen-Year-Old Indian Grandmaster Sasikiran took the sole lead with 7.5 points, scoring an emphatic victory over his teammate a...

AUG 25: Nineteen-Year-Old Indian Grandmaster Sasikiran took the sole lead with 7.5 points, scoring an emphatic victory over his teammate and GM-norm holder GB Prakash in the 11th round at the Penta Media GM chess tournament at Kelambakkam here on Friday.

Another GM, Dibyendu Barua, with 6.5 points has caught up with top seed Evgeny Vladimirov for second spot. Although Prakash also has scored 6.5 points, he has completed one game more than the others, as he is due to receive the bye only in the last round.

In a King’s Indian set up, Sasikiran held an advantageous position with black pieces. In the unclear game, Prakash went for a knight sacrifice at the centre though white enjoyed three pawns as compensation for his knight. Unmindful of his opponents piece sacrifice, Sasikiran targetted white’s queen with knight and rook. His play on the opened queen Bishop file led to Prakash losing the full rook and the game in 27 moves.

Results (11th round): Prakash (6.5) lost to Sasikiran (7.5); A Fominyh (5) lost to Kunte (5.5); Yuldashev (5) bt Vladimirov (6.5); Barua (6.5) bt S Chanda (3); DV Prasad (3) drew Maghami (3.5); RB Sattar (5.5) drew SS Ganguly (3.5); P Harikrishna (5) – bye.