Taking his tally up to 3.5 points out of a possible five, Iniyan raised expectations of a Grandmaster norm after especially the way he crashed through the defences of his famous Russian rival
Representational picture
Young Indian International Master P Iniyan caused a huge flutter defeating highly rated Grandmaster Sjugirov Sanan in the fifth round of Abu Dhabi Masters now underway here. Taking his tally up to 3.5 points out of a possible five, Iniyan raised expectations of a Grandmaster norm after especially the way he crashed through the defences of his famous Russian rival.
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It was a Dutch Leningrad by Sanan that landed in early difficulties thanks to a spirited opening display by the Indian. Winning a pawn in the early phase of the middle game itself, Iniyan kept on increasing advantage and reached a pawn plus rook and minor piece endgame. The finale was picturesque as Iniyan's last pawn inevitably marched to glory.
Nihal Sarin also remained on course for what could be a Grandmaster norm by playing out an easy draw with Ivan Cheparinov of Georgia. The 14-year old who is already well over 2500 in Elo rating, also took his tally to 3.5 points. The other Indian within striking distance of a Grandmaster norm is Erigaisi Arjun who kept himself in the hunt holding Tigran Petrosian of Armenia to a draw.
At the top of the table, Daniil Dubov of Russia conceded his first half point, splitting the point with compatriot Vladimir Fedoseev. Dubaov moved to 4.5 points where he was later joined by Wang Hao of China, A R Salem Saleh of Uae and Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia.
It was a day of mixed results for other Indians. Having lost the fourth, Abhijeet Gupta bounced back with a victory with his white pieces against Abdul Raees Kader while Murali Karthikeyan remained in pursuit defeating Anand Nadar and moving to 3.5 points.
Among the young Indians, D Gukesh suffered a setback losing to Brazilian Grandmaster Alexandr Fier but Raunak Sadhwani bounced back nicely at the expense of Pratik Patel. Dushyant Sharma caused an upset defeating Grandmaster Harmen Jonkman of Holland while Pranav Anand improved his chances beating higher ranked Indian Chinmay Kulkarni.
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