Tags:
Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, April 30: Top-seeded Swapnil Shah 3.5 of Maharashtra suffered a major reverse when he was defeated by Sunil Sasane in the fourth round and was held to draw by Joseph D8217;Mello in the fifth round of All-India Open Chess Championships, sponsored by the employees of i2 Technology, being played at the Andheri Sports Complex here today.
Five players, all from Maharashtra, Sanjay Karandikar, Madan Bagaitkar, Vilesh Bhat, Charudatta Jadhav and Sunil Sasane lead the field with five points each at the end of fifth round.
Seventh seeded D8217;Mello played very well and was enjoying winning position when he accepted Swapnil8217;s offer of draw. 8220;Swapnil is a good player and I don8217;t mind taking a draw,8221; D8217;Mello explained after the game.
Bagaitkar 8212; an employee of Canara Bank, was the first to take the lead with an emphatic victory over Shirish Patil in 17 moves of French Defence.
Charudutta Jadhav from Indian Bank outwitted seasoned Rajesh Rajput 4 from Gujarat in a well contested battle in Queen8217;s Gambit.Second seeded Sanjay Karandikar 5 continued his winning run with a hard fought win over Suryakant Raut 4 of Maharashtra.
Schoolgirl Shefali Mahato 4 from West Bengal defeated 59-year-old Narayan Purao 3 of Maharashtra to earn the highest points among women so far.
RESULTS
Fifth round: S Raut 4 Mah lost to S Karandikar 5 Mah, M Bagaitkar 5 Mah bt Shirish Patil 4 Mah, Mahipal Singh 4 Mah lost to Vilesh Bhat 5 Mah, C Jadhav 5 Mah bt R Rajput 4 Guj, G V Manmohan 3 Ker lost to Kamalbir Singh 4 Delhi, Y Yadaiyyah 2 AP bt Devias Zodge 1 Goa, Saritha K 2 Mah bt K Velu 1 TN.
