Three-way tie for lead after Round Eight
International Master Aleksander Wohl of Australia defeated Grandmaster Swapnil Dhopade to take a share of the lead after the eighth and penultimate round of Commonwealth Chess Championship in the capital on Sunday.
Wohl was a picture of confidence even as Dhopade had his chances out of huge complexities that arose after a rather dull opening system.
Known for his composure, Dhopade, for once, slipped heavily in the middle game when an erroneous plan turned a rather dull looking position into something with wild tactical possibilities.
Wohl might have won sooner but the appetite of the watching spectators would not have been sated. Instead what happened was a perfect error-filled game wherein both players had their chances but in the end the Australian won through, thanks to a big blunder by Dhopade.
With just one left in the `10 lakh championship Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta, Vaibhav Suri and Wohl share the lead on 6.5 points apiece.
As many as five players — Tejas Bakre, M.S. Thej Kumar, Erigaisi Arjun, Abhijit Kunte and P. Shyamnikhil — share fourth place on six points.
The final round will see Gupta cross swords with Wohl and the winner is likely to win this year’s championship.
Gupta is a winner of this championship for last two years and has won it thrice in the last four years. If Gupta wins, he will surpass Nigel Short of England as the record holder in Commonwealth titles.
It was not an easy outing though for Gupta against Bakre. However, a timely queen exchange led to only a slightly better position for Bakre when the draw was agreed.
Arjun caused a sensational upset defeating Aravindh Chithambaram.
In the women’s section, Tania Sachdev and Mary Ann Gomes emerged as the expected new leaders on 5.5 points following victories over Srija Seshadri and Bala Kanamma respectively.