Three Indians, GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J., GM Ghosh Diptayan and IM Das Sayantan along with five other players, all with 4.5 points each, have raced to the top at the end of the fifth round of the Rs 29 lakh prize money 10th Mumbai Mayor’s Cup International Open Chess Tournament 2017, sponsored by LIC of India, co-sponsored by Ankit Gems and played at the Mount Litera School International, Bandra on Wednesday.
Saravana Krishnan P. of India
The others who are in front, include GM Mollah Abdullah Al Rakib (Bangladesh), GM Tukhaev Adam (Ukraine), GM Murshed Niaz (Bangladesh), IM Khusenkhojaev Muhammad (Tajikistan) and GM Babujian Levon (Armenia).
However, the most notable performance in this round came from Saravana Krishnan (2353) of India who forced top seed GM Amonatov Farrukh (2635) of Tajikistan to play out a draw. The Indian started with the French defence against the heavyweight Farukh, who seemed a bit cautious and opted to play a waiting game. After regular exchange of pieces initially, they both were not prepared to take any risks and agreed to draw after 37 moves.
On the top board, second rank Indian GM Ghosh Diptayan (2569) shared honours with Bangladesh GM Murshed Niaz (2423) as they played out a draw.
Meanwhile on the second board, which was an all-India affair, GM Deepan Chakkravarthy and IM Das Sayatan started the game in London system. They engaged in regular exchange of pieces before they decide to settle for draw after 34 moves.
Results – Round 5 (top-10 boards): GM Murshed Niaz (2423, BAN) 4.5 drew with GM Ghosh Diptayan (2569, IND) 4.5; GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J. (2480, IND) 4.5 drew with IM Das Sayantan (2401, IND) 4.5; GM Amonatov Farrukh (2635, TJK) 4 drew with Saravana Krishnan P.(2353, IND) 4; GM Tukhaev Adam (2567, UKR) 4.5 beat FM Sai Krishna G.V. (2339, IND) 3.5; GM Mollah Abdullah Al Rakib (2484, BAN) 4.5 beat IM Sangma Rahul (2337, IND) 3; FM Mohammad Fahad Rahman (2305, BAN) 3.5 lost to GM Babujian Levon (2438, ARM) 4.5; IM Khusenkhojaev Muhammad (2424, TJK) 4.5 beat WCM Mrudul Dehankar (1942, IND) 3.5; Mithil Ajgaonkar (2203, IND) 3 lost to GM Rahman Ziaur (2526, BAN) 4; IM Karthikeyan P. (2502, IND) 4 beat Sekar B. (2252, IND) 3; CM Aditya Mittal (2211, IND) 3 lost to GM Grover Sahaj (2485, IND) 4.