MUMBAI, DEC 2: There was one big upset when 15th seed International Master Shekar Sahu (Elo 2290) of Union Bank lost to unrated Anoop Sidhu of Punjab.
But the top two seeds, Grandmasters Dibyendu Barua of Tata Steel and Pravin Thipsay of Union Bank had not such problem they scored fluent victory on top two boards in the first round of the Independence Cup Chess Tournament which got under way at the Andheri Sports Complex here today.
Barua, the top Elo rated Indian player after V Anand at 2540, defeated 13-year-old school girl Shraddha Samani in a Guico Piano game. Pravin Thipsay, who has a rating of 2450, overcame the stiff resistance put up by another school girl, 11-year-old Eesha Karavade.