Chanda baits another GM

Following the leader on four points are Chanda, IM K Sasikiran, IM Abhijit Kunte, GM Evgeny Vladimirov and GM Victor Korchnoi. Top seed GM Vladimir Akopian will join those on four point if he wins a slightly better endgame against IM GB Prakash.

Chanda faced his fifth consecutive Grandmaster opponent in Jozsef Horvath of Hungary. Playing with the white pieces, he went for the Sharp Kings Indian attack and obtained attacking possibilities in the ensuing middlegame.

By the time Horvath opened the queen’s wing, his king came in danger as Chanda opened the centre and used a knight to get a decisive attack.

Chanda clinchedthe issue on the 26th move. With this victory, he assured himself of his second IM norm and needs 1.5 points in the next four games for the GM norm.

Korchnoi had a close shave against Sasikiran in the Nimzo Indian defence game where the latter was white. Sasikiran employed the Leningrad Variation and obtained a slight advantage in the opening. The Indian started grinding his opponent, spurring a draw offer in the process.

Korchnoi did not leave any loose points after exchanging the queens and continued defending his interior position. Sasikiran could not find the best way of continuation and settled for a draw by a three-fold repetition.

Kaidanov, with white pieces, opened with the English Opening that transposed to the Queens Indian defence. Humpy played the main line of the variation and emerged with an isolated queen pawn. The technical skills of Kaidanov came to the fore as he played in copy book fashion, blockading the pawn and then just exerting pressure against it. Humpy could not generate thedesired counterplay and went down without a fight.

Sriram Jha (3.5 points) trained his sight for the second IM norm by swindling GM Peng Xiaomin from a lost position. Peng won an exchange in the Sicilian Defence with white pieces and was coasting to a smooth victory when he fell in a tactical trap and let Jha escape with a draw.

World under-18 girls champion Aarthic Ramasway remained in contention for her maiden WGM norm by holding GM Yurtaev Leonid in a difficult rook and pawns endgame arising out of Sicilian Defence where Aarthie was black.

Gurpreet Pal Singh held GM Viorel Lordachesscu to a draw in the win Awer Variation of the French defence with black pieces. Gurpreet has three points from five outings.

Abhijit Kunte played his usual positional chess to outwit Suvrajit Saha from the black side of a Nimzo Indian defence game while Vladimirov accounted for IM Tejas Bakre.