Saravanan, Andrey share lead

Guntur, April 4: Top seed Andrey Shariazdanov of Russia coasted to victory over Zia-ur-Rahman and was joined by Venkatachalam Saravanan of...

Guntur, April 4: Top seed Andrey Shariazdanov of Russia coasted to victory over Zia-ur-Rahman and was joined by Venkatachalam Saravanan of India in the lead. The International Master from Chennai capitalised on Pravin Thipsay8217;s poor play and posted a smooth win in the second round of the Chalapathi International Grandmasters Chess Tournament at Chalapathi Residential School, here on Tuesday.

Few years ago, Saravanan inflicted a defeat on Thipsay in the Asian Zonals from the Closed Sicilian which has stood him in good stead for a long time. Saravanan went for the Closed Sicilian again which can be a hard opening to crack because of its positional nature.

Thipsay went for a dubious pawn sacrifice in a slightly inferior position on the 18th move Nf4.

Saravanan was starting to mount pressure when the GM blundered with 29 a5 instead of Bf2 losing his bishop after two moves. The other alternative would have given Thipsay some chance for survival.

Zia-ur-Rahman could not make any impression against Russian Shariazdanov today. Rahman8217;s 22 Bd4, followed by Bc5 without any proper plan, handed the initiative to Shariazdanov, who won a pawn and created a d8217; passer to romp home in style.

Krishan Sasikiran missed exchanging a bishop on the 20th from a Caro-Kann Defence against Leonid Yurtaev Kyrgysztan which would have put him in an advantageous position. Sasi proposed a draw on the 24th move in an unclear position which Yurtaev accepted. Even though, it was a draw, Sasi was satisfied after a disappointing first round.

Koneru Humpy despite going down for the second time, showed character, fighting hard against Russian GM Alexander Fominyh from a Bogo Indian Defence. It was a strategic battle involving a lot of manoevuring. Humpy erred with 43 Bb5 allowing the rook to the seventh rank which was joined by knight at e6 to create a deadly threat. This settled the issue in GM8217;s favour.

Story continues below this ad

GB Prakash nearly paid the price for missing 18 Qc7 against Sandipan Chanda, who gobbled two pawns and tortured Prakash for a long time before settling for a draw.

Results 2nd round:

L Yurtaev KGZ 0.5 drew K Sasikiran Ind 0.5, V Saravanan Ind 2 bt PM Thipsay Ind 0.5, Zia-ur-Rahman Ban 0 lost to A Shariazdanov Rus 2, I Ibragimov Rus 1 bt Abhijit Kunte Ind 0.5, DV Prasad Ind 0.5 drew D Barua Ind 1.5, GB Prakash Ind 1 drew Sandipan Chanda Ind 1.5, A Fominyh Rus 1.5 bt K Humpy Ind 0.

3rd round pairings:

D Barua vs L Yurtaev, Abhijit Kunte vs DV Prasad, K Humpy vs Ibragimov, P Thipsay vs A Fominyh, Sandipan Chanda vs V Saravanan, A Shariazdanov vs GB Prakash, K Sasikiran vs Zia-ur-Rahman.