Mumbai, June 24
Indian Grandmasters Lalit Babu and Neelotpal Das scored impressive victories in the 8th round to jump into a joint three-player lead, along with GM Gharibyan Mamikon, in the AurionPro Mumbai International Grandmaster Chess Tournament at the World Trade Centre, here in Mumbai.
While Lalit Babu defeated GM Alexei Fedorov with White pieces in 39 moves, Neelotpal got the better of IM Arsen Davtyan.
Gharibyan Mamikon delivered a major upset, defeating tournament leader GM Aleksej Aleksandrov with the Black pieces to stake his claim among the leaders, with seven points from eight matches.
Nine players -- including GM Aleksandrov, GM Levan Pantsulaia, GM Manuel Petrosyan, GM Deepan Chakkravarthy, and GM Nguyen Duc Hoa -- are right behind with 6.5/8.
In the Junior Section, FM Aansh Nerurkar bounced back with a powerful win over CM Madhvendra Sharma, while CM Madhesh Kumar was held to a draw by Advik Agrawal. Both Aansh and Madhesh now lead jointly with 7/8 points. Hot on their heels are CM Vyom Malhotra, Advik Agrawal, and Shaunak Badole, all tied with 6.5/8.
— ANI
Reader Comments
What a fantastic performance by our Indian GMs! Lalit Babu and Neelotpal making us proud 🇮🇳 Chess is truly becoming India's strong suit after Vishy Anand's legacy. The junior section looks equally exciting with Aansh Nerurkar showing great promise!
Thrilled to see Indian chess talent shining! But I wish there was more media coverage for these tournaments. Cricket gets all the attention while our chess champions work just as hard. Kudos to the organizers for hosting this in Mumbai's World Trade Centre - great venue!
Gharibyan's upset against Aleksandrov was the highlight for me! Shows how unpredictable chess can be at this level. The Indian juniors are performing exceptionally well too - future looks bright for Indian chess. Hope Deepan Chakkravarthy can make a comeback in the next rounds.
As a chess mom, this makes me so happy! My daughter looks up to players like Aansh Nerurkar. We need more such tournaments across India to nurture young talent. The competition in junior section seems intense - perfect for developing mental toughness early on.
Impressive showing, but I'm concerned about the lack of sponsors for chess compared to other sports. These players deserve better financial support and infrastructure. The government should include chess in Khelo India program properly, not just as an afterthought.
The depth in Indian chess is amazing! From veterans to juniors, we have quality players at all levels now. Special shoutout to the organizers for maintaining such high standards. Would love to see more women participants in future editions though - that's an area we need to work on.
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