New Delhi, June 12 (IANS) Belarusian Grandmaster Mihail Nikitenko, playing whites, downed Georgian GM Luka Paichadze in Round 8 of the 21st Delhi International Open Grandmasters Chess Tournament (Delhi GM Open) 2025 to join Abhijeet Gupta in a joint-lead at the top of the leaderboard. With only two rounds remaining in Category A, both Nikitenko and Gupta spearhead the competition with seven points apiece.
The 21st Delhi GM Open continues to be Asia’s premier open chess tournament, drawing over 2,500 players from more than 20 countries, including 24 Grandmasters. Organised under the aegis of the All India Chess Federation, the event boasts a record prize pool of Rs 1.21 crore and remains a cornerstone of India’s chess calendar.
Hitherto the sole leader, Gupta, three-time former champion of the Delhi GM Open–a record unmatched thus far in the competition’s history–clashed with Armenian GM Manuel Petrosyan on Wednesday at the top board, aiming to add to his tally. However, the gritty contest, which saw the pair exchange blows frequently in an attempt to gain the upper hand, resulted in a draw, adding half a point to their respective tallies.
At the vanguard of the chasing party, GM SL Narayan–the tournament’s highest-rated player–also drew with International Master Neelash Saha of India, ensuring that the pair remain within touching distance of the joint leaders heading into the final two rounds. Indian IM Aronyak Ghosh and Swedish GM Vitaly Sivuk also played out a draw, while GM Diptayan Ghosh defeated GM Boris Savchenko of Russia, with all three ending Round 8 with six and a half points on board, just half shy of the Gupta and Nikitenko.
Joining the chasing pack were Grandmasters Aditya S Samant, Mamikon Gharibyan (Armenia), and Aleksej Aleksandrov (Belarus), each of whom won their respective matches in Round 8. GMs Venkataraman Kartik, Nguyen Doc Hoa (Vietnam), and MR Venkatesh also earned victories on the day, but remained a point or more adrift of the top of the table.
Meanwhile, Wednesday also saw the continuation of Category C, comprising 1,250 participants, competing for a prize pool of INR 35 lakhs. The section will conclude on Saturday, June 14, with the winner claiming INR 4 lakhs.
–IANS
bc/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
