Alkass Digital
India’s SL Narayanan yesterday shared a point with Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov to join a four-way tie at the top of Qatar Masters Open standings with Arjun Erigaisi, Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev following the sixth round at Lusail Multipurpose Hall.
The leading Grandmasters now have five points each, while eight other top competitors, including World No.1 and five time World Champion Magnus Carlsen, American No.2 seed Hikaru Nakamura and top Indian star Dommaraju Gukesh closely follow with 4.5 points each.
The third edition of the prestigious championship resumed yesterday following a one-day break, and produced thrilling encounters.
Narayanan, seeded 13th in the tournament, could have topped the standings with a win yesterday, but the draw against the Uzbek fifth seed could only add half point to his tally – meaning he had to share the lead.
The 25-year-old was the sole contestant with 4.5 points prior to yesterday's round, and was at the top of the standings, chased by 12 others with 4 points each.
Uzbekistan’s Sindarov defeated India’s Aditya Mithai, also raising his score to 5 points and positioning him in third place, while sixth seed Erigaisi secured a victory against Rudik Makarian to take his tally to 5 points.
Fourth seed Gukesh, meanwhile, handed his compatriot Rameshbabu Vaishali her first defeat in the tournament.
Vaishali, the sister of Praggnanandhaa who famously put the Norwegian star Carlsen to the test at the Chess World Cup earlier this year, yesterday managed to create great complications with the Black pieces, but she blundered due to severe time pressure.
Meanwhile, title favourite Carlsen continued his winning streak by defeating Indian Aditya Samanth, an International Master – seeded 48th. This victory brought Carlsen’s score to 4.5, positioning him at ninth place at the end of the sixth round.
American Nakamura, ranked third in the world, found himself in yet another draw, this time against David Paravyan who is competing under the International Chess Federation flag.
Following the victory, Nakamura re-confirmed that the competitions are getting more difficult as it reaches its final stages.
“I think things have not been settled yet, given the very little gap in points between the top 20 players in the standings. As for me, I faced very tough situations during the previous two games, and I will try to put in more effort so that I can increase my points tally,” Nakamura said.
“There is no easy match in the Qatar Masters and all games have equal chances between the participating players, especially since the tournament is one of the highest-ranked tournaments, which makes the task difficult for all participants without exception. Everyone saw what happened in the previous rounds,” Nakamura added.
Among other notable results, Dutchman Anish Giri, ranked seventh globally, emerged victorious over Algerian player Bilel Bellahcene, securing four points for himself and leaving his opponent at 3 points.
Qatar’s International Master Husain Aziz yesterday defied the odds by securing his second victory in the tournament.
Yesterday, Aziz triumphed over India’s Mahendru Jaiveer, ranked 107th in the tournament, as the home star climbed to the 87th spot in the standings.