International Master S. Nitin (8 points) drew with fellow International Master Ravichandran Siddharth (7) in the 9th round of the 13th Chennai Open International Grandmaster chess tournament here on Saturday. The draw on the top board saw Nitin's lead cut down to half a point as GM Boris Savchenko (Russia), Alexei Federov (Belarus), Aronyak Ghosh, Himal Gusain (both India) moved on to 7.5 points.
The results (Round 9, Indians unless specified):
S. Nitin 8 drew with Ravichandran Siddharth 7; S. Prasannaa 6.5 lost to Boris Savchenk (Russia) 7.5; P. Konguvel 6.5 lost to Alexei Fedorov (Belarus) 7.5; Aronyak Ghosh 7.5 bt Vahe Baghdasaryan (Arm) 6.5; Himal Gusain 7.5 bt Daakshin Arun 6.5; M. Kunal 6.5 drew with J. Deepan Chakkravarthy 6.5; Aaryan Varshney 6.5 drew with Kirill Stupak (Belarus) 6.5; Ajay Karthikeyan 6.5 drew with P. Saravana Krishnan 6.5; K. Priyanka 6.0 lost to L. R. Srihari 7.0; R. R. Laxman 6.5 drew with Jubin Jimmy 6.5; Nguyen Van Huy (Vie) 7.0 bt P. R. Hirthickkesh 6.0; V. A. V. Rajesh 7.0 bt K. P. Pranav 6.0; Samriddha Ghosh 5.5 lost to N. B. Hari Madhavan 6.5.
The 23rd Hercules Cycles TN State-level inter-school & college chess tournament for u-8,10,12,14 & 25 boys & girls will be organised on July 16 and 17 at S.B.O.A MHSS, Anna Nagar Western Extension, Chennai – 600101. Entries close on July 12.