Madhurima jumps to sole lead

Local hope Madhurima Shekhar took the sole lead with perfect score after defeating Michelle Catherina of Tamil Nadu in the fourth round of the 39th National Women Challengers Chess Championship in Delhi on Monday. Opting for Scotch game,Madhurima exhibited sheer end game skills to overpower her higher rated Tamilnadu rival in 43 moves.

Meanwhile other overnight joint leaders Tejaswini Sagar of Maharahstra and M Mahalakshmi of Tamilnadu shook their hands after first time control of 40 moves,signaling a draw on result. In other important fourth round encounters,top seed Chandika Divyasree of Andhra Pradesh escaped from the claws of defeat to split the point against Harini S of Tamil Nadu while Swati Mohota of West Bengal outwitted second seed Rucha Pujari of Maharahstra in closely contested game. Third seed Nimmy A G of Kerala got better off team mate Meenu Rajendran and paired with Madhurima on top board for the fifth round.

Results: Madhurima Shekhar of Delhi (4) beat Michelle Catherina of Tamilnadu (3); Tejaswini Sagar of Maharashtra (3.5) drew with Mahalakshmi M of Tamilnadu (3.5); Harini S of Tamilnadu (3) drew with Chandika Divyasree of Andhra Pradesh (3); Swati Mohota of West Bengal (3.5) beat Rucha Pujari of Maharashtra (2.5); Nimmy A G of Kerala (3.5) beat Meenu Rajendran of Kerala (2.5); Rajasurya J of Tamilnadu (2.5) lost to Priya P of Tamilnadu (3.5); Saranya J of Tamilnadu (3.5) beat Pallabi Roy of West Bengal (2.5); Bharathi R of Tamilnadu (3).