Sethuraman joint-third after Polish scalp

Playing the white side of a Queen pawn game,Sethuraman got the initial advantage and he capitalised on it well to win a pawn by force in the middle game.

Indian Grandmaster SP Sethuraman came back into the reckoning for top honours after defeating Duda Jan-Krzysztof of Poland in the seventh round of World Junior Chess Championship here. After losing the sixth round against Yu Yangyo of China,Sethuraman needed to win to stay in contention and he did that in style with white pieces to take his tally to 5.5 points.

Playing the white side of a Queen pawn game,Sethuraman got the initial advantage and he capitalised on it well to win a pawn by force in the middle game. Jan-Krzysztof,however,came up with some resistance and it was only in the nick of time that Sethuraman found a brilliant queen sacrifice to march to glory.

Yangyi in lead

Yu Yangyi of China,meanwhile,stayed ahead of the rest with another fine performance against Russian Urii Eleseev. The Chinese took his tally to a commanding 6.5 points out of a possible seven and stayed a half point clear of defending champion and local hero Alexander Ipatov.

Indian Grandmaster Sahaj Grover and Sethuraman share a four-way tie for the third spot along with Jorge Cori of Peru and Idani Pouya of Iran with six rounds still to go in the premier event for under-20 players in the world. Grandmaster Vidit Gujarathi also scored a comeback victory over Turkeys Dastan Muhammed Batuhan while,after initial hiccups,Asian junior champion N Srinath played a fine game to cruise past Martin Romero Martinex of Colombia.

Indian results Round 7:

Boys: Alexander Ipatov Tur,6 bt Debashis Das 5; Vladislav Kovalev Blr,5 drew with Sahaj Grover 5.5; SP Sethuraman 5.5 bt Duda Jan-Krzysztof Pol,4.5; Vidit Gujrathi 5 bt Dastan Muhammed Batuhan Tur,4; Martin Romero Martinez Col,4 lost to N Srinath 5; SL Narayanan 4 bt Carneiro Vitor Roberto Castro Bra,3; Sameer Kathmale 3.5 drew with Diyap Buyukasik Tur,3.5; Yargici Mazhar Kutay Tur,2 lost to Rakesh Kulkarni 2. Girls: Padmini Rout 5 bt G K Monnisha 4; Zhansaya Abdumalik Uzb,5 bt Pujari Rucha 4; J Saranya 3.5 lost to Xiao Yiyi Chn,4.5; Ivana Maria Furtado 4 drew with Aisa Imeeva Rus,4; Anjana Krishna 3.5 bt Barbara Racki Cro,2.5; Gulay Ayca Nuriye Tur,2 lost to Riya Savant 3.