Team Herald
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PANJIM: The penultimate round of late Shri Manohar Parrikar 3rd Goa International Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament 2025 saw intense battles as IM Ayush Sharma (Madhya Pradesh), GM Sethuraman SP (Tamil Nadu) and IM Slizhevsky Alexander (Russia) emerged as joint leaders with 7.5 points each after nine rounds at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigao Plateau, on Saturday.
The competition remains fierce, with Goa’s IM Ethan Vaz, IM Aronyak Ghosh (RSPB) and IM Tologon Tegin Semetei (Kyrgyzstan) closely trailing at 7 points each, setting the stage for a thrilling final round. Nine players, including some of the tournament’s highest-rated participants, are positioned at 6.5 points. This group features notable names – GM Diptayan Ghosh (RSPB), GM Mitrabha Guha (West Bengal), GM Boris Savchenko (Russia), GM Alexei Fedorov (Belarus) and IM Agibileg Uurtsaikh (Mongolia), all keeping the competition tight as they head into the decisive final round.
Fourteen players, including Goa’s IM Ameya Audi, follow closely with 6 points, ensuring the middle-tier battle remains equally captivating. IM Ethan Vaz continued his stellar run, securing a sensational victory against IM Rohith Krishna S (Tamil Nadu) to stay in contention for the top spot with 7 points.
IM Ameya Audi faced a challenging match, conceding a point to IM Slizhevsky Alexander, leaving him at 6 points. IM Ritviz Parab bounced back with a win against Moxit J Shah (Gujarat) and now stands at 5.5 points. GM Anurag Mhamal, after a tough game against IM Gochelashvili David (Russia) where he faced a loss, is at 5 points.
