Champ Gupta held by Sheikh
International Master Nubairshah Sheikh held defending champion and Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta in the third round of the Commonwealth Chess Championship in the Capital on Wednesday.
It was a difficult outing for the top seeded player as Sheikh, who is doubling his stint in the under- 20 section of the championships as well, stayed well on course in an irregular opening game with white pieces.
Gupta sacrificed a pawn in the endgame and things looked a bit complicated but Sheikh was always out of the danger- zone and drew comfortably.
The trend of upsets continued in the event as second seed Aravindh Chithamabaram was also held to a draw by Rishi Sardana of Australia. Grandmaster Abhijeet Kunte also dropped a half point when he could not force matters against Mary Ann Gomes.
The women power was on display in the third round as Important third round results: M. N. Sheikh ( 2.5) drew with Abhijeet Gupta; Aravindh Chithambaram ( 2.5) drew with Rishi Sardana ( 2.5); Alexander Wohl ( 2) lost to Vaibhav Suri ( 3); Soumya Swaminathan ( 2) lost to Swapnil Dhopade ( 3); Abhijit Kunte ( 2.5) drew with Mary Ann Gomes ( 2.5); Swati Ghate ( 3) beat Deepan Chakkravarthy ( 2); Nisha Mohota ( 2) lost to Ankit Rajpara ( 3); P Shyamnikil ( 2) lost to Bhakti Kulkarni ( 3); K Priyanka ( 3) beat C R G Krishna ( Aradhya Garg ( 2.5) beat M S Thejkumar ( 1.5). International Women Master Swati Ghate outwitted Grandmaster Deepan Chakkravarthy. Bhakti Kulkarni defeated P. Shyam Nikil while K. Priyanka downed International Master C. R. G. Krishna.
Veteran IWM Bhagyashree Thipsay proved superior to Tania Sachdev even though the latter holds over 300 points rating advantage.
Indian junior champion Kumar Gaurav remained on course for a second International Master norm with an impressive display.
Having beaten GM Ziaur Rahaman in the opener and a draw with IM C. Pravin Kumar, Gaurav on Wednesday held higher ranked Md. Taibur Rahman of Bangladesh to a draw.
With six rounds still remaining in the ` 10 Lakhs Championships, Grandmasters Vaibahv Suri, Swapnil Dhopade, Ankit Rajpara and Ghate, Kulkarni and share the lead with a perfect score.
Players, including Gupta, are on the heels of the six leaders, half a point behind and the battle is only going to heat up as the event now enters the mid way stage.