New Delhi: International Master Aleksander Wohl of Australia continued with his dream run and defeated Grandmaster Swapnil Dhopade to be among joint leaders after the end of the eighth and penultimate round of Commonwealth Chess Championship now underway here at the Leela Ambience.
Wohl, was a picture of confidence even as DHopade had his chances out of huge complexities that arose after a rather dull opening system. Usually known for his fantastic composure, Dhopade, for once, slipped heavily in the middle game when an erroneous plan turned a rather dull looking position in to something with wild tactical possibilities.
Wohl might have won sooner but the appetite of the watching spectators would not have been satiated. Instead what happened was a perfect error-filled game wherein both players had their chances but in the end the Australian proved his weight thanks to a big blunder by Dhopade.
With just one round to come in the Rs. 10 Lakh championship Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta , Vaibhav Suri and Wohl share the lead on 6.5 points apiece. As many as five players – Tejas Bakre, M S Thej Kumar, Erigaisi Arjun, Abhijit Kunte and P Shyamnikhil share the fourth spot having six points apiece.
The ‘Battle Royale’ in the final round on Monday will see Gupta crossing swords with Wohl and the winner is likely to win this year’s championship. It may be recalled that Gupta is a winner of this championship for last two years and has won it three times in the last four years. If Gupta wins, he will surpass Nigel Short of England and be the record holder in Commonwealth Championships.
It was not an easy outing though for Gupta who was relegated to a slightly worse position against Tejas Bakre. However, a timely queen exchange led to only a slightly better position for Bakre when the draw was agreed.
Erigaisi Arjun caused a sensational upset of the day defeating Aravindh Chithambaram.
In the women’s championship Tania Sachdev and Mary Ann Gomes emerged as the expected new leaders on 5.5 points following victories over Srija Seshadri and Bala Kanamma respectively. The pairings for the last round will decide who meets tougher opposition but as of now it seems Tania holds some advantage thanks to her high rating.
Results round 8: Tejas Bakre (6) drew with Abhijeet Gupta (6.5); Vaibhav Suri (6.5) beat Shardul Gagare (5.5); Aleksander wohl (6.5) beat Swapnil Dhopade (5.5); Pravin Thipsay (5.5) lost to M S Thej Kumar (6); Aravindh Chithambaram (5) lost to Erigaisi Arjun (6); Ziaur Rahman (5.5) drew with M N Sheikh (5.5); M Guha (5) lost to Abhijit Kunte (6); Rishi Sardana (5.5) drew with Abdulla Al Rakib (5.5); P Shyam Nikhil (6) beat M C Reddy (5); Swati Ghate (5) drew with Sahaj Grover (5).
