Gupta takes sole lead
Grandmaster and defending champion Abhijeet Gupta defeated Vaibhav Suri to become the sole leader after the seventh round of the Commonwealth Chess Championship in New Delhi on Saturday.
Looking for his third straight Commonwealth crown, Gupta produced a sublime performance to jump to six points with the victory.
The Bogo Indian defence employed by Suri surprised Gupta but he produced a tactical trick that resulted in a queen for two pieces for him.
Thereafter, Suri did not stand a chance.
Suri, leading by half a point at the start of the round, suffered his first loss but the Delhi boy is still tied for the second spot on 5.5 points.
Tejas Bakre, Shardul Gagare, Pravin Thipsay, Suri and Alexander Wohl of Australia share the second spot on 5.5 points apiece in a tight race at the top.
The women’s championship was thrown wide open as Swati Ghate and Bhakti Kulkarni suffered defeats at the hands of Gagare and Abdullah Al Rakib of Bangladesh, respectively.
Highest rated among women, Tania Sachdev is now among the leaders in the women’s section.
It’s a tough draw for most of the women players in the penultimate round as well and Sachdev along with Mary Ann Gomes are now favourites to annex the title.