18 Oct 2018 | 05:33am IST
Top seed Kravtsiv stunned by Gajwa; Akash beatS GM Alexandr
Nitish, Ameya record Round 6 wins; Bhakti held
PANJIM: Indian International Master Akash G and Fide Master Gajwa Ankit grabbed the headlines on A day of stunning upsets at the 1st Goa International Grandmasters Open Chess tournament, organised by Goa Chess Association, at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigao.
Top seed GM Kravtsiv Martyn (2654) and GM Predke Alexandr (2615) were handed the tournament upsets by Fide Master Gajwa Ankit (2224) and International Master Akash G (2424) respectively in their Round 6 encounters.
Kravtsiv, played trompowsky attack which actually went against him as he tried to attack Gujwa from the centre. But the Indian Fide Master responded well and was straight on the line. The game didn't last long as Ankit recorded the biggest win of his career starting with the black in just 22 moves.
Earlier, Kravtsiv lost against Armenian GM Levon Babujian and now stands no chance to win the title.
Alexandr played Sicilian Dragon but Akash responded with game plan playing castle short instead of long. It was a one sided game for the Indian.
The win leaves both the Indians with better chances to gain norms. GM Sivuk Vitaly and Iranian GM Idani Pouya shared the points following a thrilling draw on third board. On board two, GM Ter Sahakyan Samvel was beaten by Ukrainian GM Bernadskiy Vitaly.
The lead is shared by four players — GM Idani Pouya, GM Sivuk Vitaly, GM Bernadsky Vitaliy and GM Neverov Veleriy with five points apiece.
Meanwhile, among the Indian players, International Master Akash G is sharing the lead with GM Deepan Chakkravarthy with 5 points followed by GM Laxman RR who lost against GM Amonatov Farrukh, Gusain Himal, Stany GA, all are on 4.5 points.
Meanwhile, Goa’s FM Ameya Audi and FM Nitish Belurkar continued their dream run in the tournament recording wins in their respective games to keep Goa’s name running among the worlds best, after the withdrawal of GM Anurag Mhamal from the tournament.
Ameya Audi recorded back to back wins after beating Samant Aditya S from Maharashtra to move on to 4.5 points. Anurag had four points after the end of Round 5.
Fide Master Nitish Belurkar, recording back to back wins, also moved on to 4.5 points following his win over AGM Sa Kannan. The win takes the duo ahead of Woman Grandmaster Bhakti Kulkarni who was once again held to a draw by Kerala’s Anil Kumar. She now has 3.5 points.
“I’m giving my best and the results are coming my way. So far it has been a great round and I’m looking forward for the next rounds,” said Nitish Belurkar after his Round 6 win.
Niraj Saripalli also recorded win against Mushini Ajay and moved on to four points. Umang Kaisary, Cruz Wilson and Gunjal Chopdekar were the other Goans to register wins.
