Yongsters Malay, Devika shine
Mumbai, November 9: Talented youngsters, 15-year-old Malay Krishna (ELO 1520) and 12-year-old Devika Raul (ELO 1226) played intelligently and produced impressive performances to score over higher ranked opponents in round five of the SBI Life FIDE Rating Chess Tournament, and played at the Russian Cultural Centre.
On board 4, Malay continued his dream run against fancied rivals by scalping sixth-seeded Tejas Joshi (ELO 1762) from the white side of Trompowsky attack in 40 moves. This win propels Malay to the joint top spot in the standings.
Meanwhile, some gutsy display from Devika enabled her to scalp more experienced players Jeet Shah (1676) and Hriday Bhuta (ELO 1537) and is now occupying the joint second spot.
The overnight joint leaders, Ketan Patil (ELO 1748) and Gopal Rathod (ELO 1842) were engaged in an intense fight on the top board, but the match ended in a draw. Rathod, playing with black pieces opted for Alekhine Defense and the game went on equal footing with Ketan enjoying a minimal space advantage but he could not find the proper continuation. This allowed Gopal to trade off pieces at regular intervals, which left Ketan with no choice but to sign peace treaty after 48 moves.
They now share the lead with FM S.G. Joshi (ELO 2120) and the surprise performer in young Malay with 4.5/5 points.
On board 2, FM Joshi stopped the giant-killing run of Tushar Kuwar by defeating him easily from the white side of English opening. Tushar committed a serious mistake on move 21, which allowed Joshi to win material through a tactical skirmish and go for the win.
Mumbai University player, Sanjeev Mishra (ELO 1590) continued his impressive performance by holding 3rd seeded Amardeep Bartakke (ELO 2049) to a draw from the black side of French - Tarrash variation.
With four rounds remaining, a fierce battle is in the offing to gain supremacy in this one lakh prize money event, which is being organized by Indian Chess School under the aegis of FIDE - the World Chess Federation at Russian Cultural Centre.
Key Results of Round 5: Patil Ketan (4) drew Gopal Rathod (4); Joshi S G (3 1/2) beat Kuwar Tushar (3 ½ ); Bartakke Amardeep (3 ½) drew Mishra Sanjeev (3 ½); Krishna Malay (3 ½) beat Joshi Tejas (3 ½); Kunnekar Vanshri (3) lost to Dahale Atul (3); Joglekar Abhijit (3) lost to Shah Sparsh (3); Akshit Jha (3) drew Punia Yuvraj (3); Raul Devika (3) beat Bhuta Hriday (3); Gengaje Pratik (3) beat Yashwant Naik (3); Gada Krish (3) drew Iyer A N (3)
