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Mary Ann Gomes & Kruttika Nadig share lead
By
R.R.Vasudevan, FIDE Arbiter
International Master Aswin Jayaram moved into sole lead scoring over
World Under 16 Champion Baskar Adhiban in the seventh round of the
Sai Ram Engineering College Asian Junior Chess Championship 2008 at
Hotel Vijay Park, here today. Aswin leads with 6.0 points and is
followed by FIDE Masters Nitin and Priyadharshan, and Vishnu
Prasanna, Rahul Sangma and Lalith Babu at 5.5 points.
Woman Grandmaster and Olympiad Silver Medallist Mary Ann Gomes
shared the lead with Maharashtra star Kruttika Nadig with 6.0 points
in the Girls section. A full point behind the leading duo are the
quartet - WFM Bhakthi Kulkarni, Sivasankari, Raghavi and Shalmali
Gagare.
The top board game between Adhiban and Aswin had excitement written
all over it. Both the talented Tamil Nadu junior rattled their first
twenty moves in less than five minutes. As the Sicilian opening game
progressed into middle game, Adhiban showed his aggressive intents
marshalling all his pieces towards the black monarch. Sacrificing an
exchange Adhiban exposed the black king from his shelters, but Aswin
with his diehard approach refused to give up. In the ensuing endgame
melee Adhiban spurned several drawing chances and went down after 63
moves. Aswin who was close to winning the Asian Junior title last
year, is now on a perfect lead platform and the right moves should
keep his title hunt positive.
In another exciting game, Salem based FIDE Master Senthilvel Nitin
outclassed Grandmaster Norm holder Deep Sengupta. The French game,
was a theoretical one right from the word go. Nitin moved into a
queenless game, as he rallied his twin rooks on both the flanks.
Deep Sengupta was left guessing for most part of the game, as Nitin
kept changing his plans. Into the fourth hour of play, Nitin had
Sengupta in a fix with a sensational knight sacrifice. Closing in
for the kill, Nitin finished off the game with a flourish, as
Sengupta resigned by the 59th move.
After a shocking first round defeat in the hands of Maharashtra boy
Shardul Gagare, Nitin has bounced back showing grit and attitude the
champions are made of. His spectacular win today takes him to top
board against International Master Aswin Jayaram in the next round.
In the top board battle between Bengal and Goan juniors, Woman
Grandmaster Mary Ann Gomes got the better of Woman FIDE Master
Bhakthi Kulkarni. With both the players going for the jugular, it
was Mary's imaginative and defensive play that called the shots. For
in the end, the Goan girl had given one too many. Mary meets Woman
International Master Kruttika Nadig in what could turn out to be a
title bout of sorts in the next round.
Two rounds remaining in this event, with the winner being awarded
the International Master title along with a nine game Grandmaster
Norm.
Results and Pairing :
Boys -
Girls
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