Delhi GM Open: Gupta beats Nikitenko to take sole lead

New Delhi, Jun 13 (PTI) Indian GM Abhijeet Gupta surged into sole lead at the Delhi GM Open after a clinical Round 9 victory over Belarusian Mihail Nikitenko here on Friday.

With this win, Gupta now sits atop the leaderboard with 8 points from 9 rounds, positioning himself as the frontrunner for the championship ahead of the final round.

Gupta, playing with white, outmaneuvered co-leader Nikitenko in a sharp encounter and the result also pushed the Belarusian into the chasing pack with 7 points.

Among the other key matchups, Armenian GM Mamikon Gharibyan and Indian GM SL Narayanan played out a draw, taking both to 7 points each.

Vietnamese GM Nguyen Van Huy held India’s GM Diptayan Ghosh to a draw, with both the players moving to 7 points.

Swedish GM Vitaly Sivuk drew with IM Nitin S to remain in the tightly packed 7-point group.

Meanwhile, GM Aditya S Samant scored a crucial win over Belarusian GM Aleksej Aleksandrov, moving to 7.5 points.

Joining him in second place is IM Aronyak Ghosh, who defeated IM Sharnarthi Viresh to climb to 7.5 points. PTI UNG ATK ATK