PANJIM: Geno Pharmaceuticals brand ambassador , CM Nitish Belurkar (rating 2046) scored a facile victory over Srijit Paul (rating 1882) to secure seven points and be in contention for a medal for Goa at the end of the ninth round of National under-13 chess championship, at Jharkhand. Nitish faces top seed Hritickkesh Pr (rating 2174) of Tamil Nadu in the crucial 10th round, on Saturday.
State under-13 champion, Anant Prabhudesai (rating 1780) displayed good attacking acumen to defeat Salil Deogade (rating 1656) and secure six points.
M Barath (rating 1880) was involved in an interesting battle with Samal Ansuman (rating 1757) which finally ended in a draw, to also secure six points.
Gaurav Madkaikar (rating 1588) fought hard but lost to FM Sankalp Baliar Singh (rating 1832) to remain on 5.5 points. Aston Dias (rating 1426) defeated Neeraj Anirudh K (rating 1177) to move to 4.5 points.
In the girls section, State under-13 champion, Riddhi Zantye (rating 1536) was involved in a close battle with WCM Salonika Saina (rating 1765) which ended in a draw, to secure six points. Aditee Prabhugaonkar (rating 1709) fought well but lost to Makhijha Aashna (rating 1532) and is on five points.
