Nikitenko downs Paichadze, joins Abhijeet Gupta at top

Indian Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta was held to a draw by Armenia's Manuel Petrosyan but he held on to his top spot after the eighth round of Delhi International Open chess tournament here on Thursday. Belarusian GM Mihail Nikitenko downed Georgian GM Luka Paichadze to join Gupta at the top spot. With only two rounds remaining in Category A, Nikitenko and Gupta lead the competition with seven points apiece.

Gupta, a three-time former champion, clashed with Armenian GM Petrosyan on the top board, aiming to add to his tally. However, the gritty contest, which saw the pair exchange blows frequently in an attempt to gain the upper hand, resulted in a draw, adding half a point to their respective tallies.

GM SL Narayan, the tournament's highest-rated player, drew with International Master Neelash Saha of India, ensuring that the pair remained within touching distance of the joint leaders heading into the final two rounds. Indian IM Aronyak Ghosh and Swedish GM Vitaly Sivuk also played out a draw, while Diptayan Ghosh defeated Boris Savchenko of Russia, with all three ending the round with six and a half point on board.

Joining the chasing pack were Grandmasters Aditya S Samant, Mamikon Gharibyan (Armenia), and Aleksej Aleksandrov (Belarus), each of whom won their respective matches in Round 8. GMs Venkataraman Kartik, Nguyen Doc Hoa (Vietnam), and MR Venkatesh also earned victories in the eighth round of the Delhi Open, but remained a point or more adrift of the top of the table. PTI