Three Indians in sole lead

Three Indians in sole lead
Vinod Sharma

TEHRAN, MARCH 29: Three Indian players jumped into sole lead going into fifth round on Wednesday while two others held a share of the top spot in the Asian Youth Chess Championships here.

Former World Under-12 bronze medallist Tania Sachdev (3.5) emerged sole leader in the girls' under-14 section after beating S Paridar (2.5) of Iran in Sicilian Dragon variation while VK Sindhu (4) continued her reign at the top in the girls' under-10 section on Tuesday evening.

Sindhu beat Iran's F Seidi (2.5) with black pieces in the exchange variation of French Defence to take control with an all-win record. An Indian was also in sole charge in the boys' under-10 section. M Abhinav emerged at the top, beating V Azamatkosuba (3) of Kazakhstan in Schevengen Variation of Sicilian Defence with black pieces.

Former World Under-10 boys' winner P Harikrishna and Abhijeet Gupta were sharing the lead in their respective groups. Harikrishna played out a quick 12-move draw with Iran's H Tahmasebi (3.5) in French Defence to share the under-14 top spot with the Iranian while in under-12, Gupta (3.5) beat G Pezeshkian of Iran to emerge joint leader with R Ozhumabaev (3.5) of Kazakhstan who drew D Ngueyn of Vietnam.

QA Nguyen (3.5) was the lone non-Indian in sole lead in the 48-player age-group tournament after beating B Khallaeva (3) of Turkmenistan in the girls' under-12 section. India's Krutika Nadig was following close behind with three points after beating compatriot Mary Ann Gomez (2). (PTI)

Results (fourth round)

Boys Under-14: H Tahmasebi (3.5) Iran drew P Harikrisham (3.5), H Abdulla (3, UAE) bt S Alavimoghadam (2.5, Iran), A Nasri (3) Iran bt D Chakravarty (2, India). Under-12: R Dzhumabaev (3.5) drew D Nguyen (3), A Gupta (3.5) bt G Pezeshkian (2, Iran), A Esenova (3, Turkmenistan) bt G Rohit (2), Z Safoev (3, Tajakistan) bt O Norooz (2, Iran). Under-10: M Abhinav (4) bt U Azamatkozubai (3, Kyrgyzistan), P Oerini (3, Iran) bt A Abdullamzaoeh (2.5, Iran), D Dushujanav (3.5, Kazakhstan) bt A Tatishev (2, Kazakhstan).

Girls Under-14: Tania Sachdev (3.5) bt S Paridar (2.5, Iran), Eesha (2.5) drew D Tuitebaeva (2.5), S Bayat (2.5, Iran) drew D Aketaeva (2.5). Under-12: QA Nguyen (3.5, Vietnam) bt B Khallaeva (3, Turkmenistan), K Nadig (3) bt M Gomes (2), J Tilenbaeva (2.5, Kyrgyzistan) drew LY Jing (2, China), Z M Moosavi (2, Iran) drew A Pourkashian (2, Iran). Under-10: VK Sindhu (4) bt F Seidi (2.5, Iran), B Ting (3.5, China) bt N Mai (2, Vietnam), O Danilyuk (3, Kazakhstan) bt A Baoelem (1, Iran).