Pune, August 21, 2023: The 60th National Chess Championship, organized by the Maharashtra Chess Association and hosted at the Boxing Hall, Shree Shivchatrapati Kreeda Sankul, Mhalunge Balewadi, Pune, witnessed GM S.P. Sethuraman maintaining his lead with a remarkable 6 points.
In a high-stakes encounter on board 1, GM Mitrabha Guha managed to halt the winning streak of Tournament Leader Abhimanyu Puranik, resulting in a draw. Guha displayed exceptional resilience, preventing Abhimanyu from gaining any upper hand and playing a solid game with the black pieces.
On board 2, GM S.P. Sethuraman showcased his prowess by defeating GM Deep Sengupta with the black pieces in a technical endgame. This victory propelled Sethuraman to become the sole leader of the tournament with an impressive score of 6/6.
The sixth round also saw GM Deepan Chakravarthy exhibiting a solid performance, forcing a draw against GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly. Despite Ganguly’s attempts, he couldn’t find the optimal moves in the middle game, resulting in a draw.
In a tightly contested match, GM Diptayan Ghosh defended resolutely with the black pieces against GM Venkatesh MR on board 4, leading to a draw. Although GM Venkatesh held a slight advantage with the white pieces, he chose a cautious approach and settled for the draw.
A major upset in Round 6 was orchestrated by Apoorv Kamble, competing on board 10. Apoorv Kamble, the State blitz Champion from Karnataka, managed to defeat GM Sayantan Das with the white pieces. A critical mistake by Sayantan Das in the endgame allowed Apoorv Kamble to capitalize on the opportunity and clinch a victory.
The sixth round results were as follows:
- Abhimanyu Puranik (5.5 pts) (AAI) drew with Mitrabha Guha (5.5 pts) (WB)
- Deep Sengupta (5 pts) (PSPB) vs Sethuraman, S.P. (5 pts) (PSPB)
- Surya Shekhar Ganguly (5 pts) (PSPB) drew with Deepan, Chakkravarthy J. (5 pts) (RSPB)
- Venkatesh, M.R. (5 pts) (PSPB) drew with Diptayan Ghosh (5 pts) (WB)
- Vishnu, Prasanna. V (4.5 pts) (TN) lost to Aronyak, Ghosh (5.5 pts) (RSPB)
- Kolla, Bhaavan (5 pts) (AP) drew with Shyaamnikhil, P (5 pts) (RSPB)
- Utkal Sahoo (4 pts) (ODI) lost to Abhijeet Gupta (5 pts) (PSPB)
- Visakh NR (5 pts) (RSPB) bt Dinesh Sharma (4 pts) (LIC)
- Praveen Kumar C (4 pts) (TN) lost to Iniyan P (5 pts) (TN)
- Apoorv Kamble (5 pts) (KAR) bt Sayantan Das (4 pts) (RSPB)
- Akash G (4.5 pts) (TN) drew with Kaivalya Nagare (4.5 pts) (MAH)
- Neelash Saha (5 pts) (RSPB) bt Vivaan Shah (4 pts) (GUJ)
- Anuj Shrivatri (5 pts) (MP) bt Yash Bharadia (4 pts) (RAJ)
- Arghyadip Das (5 pts) (RSPB) bt Aakash, G (4 pts) (TN)
- Srihari, L R (5 pts) (TN) bt Potluri, Supreetha (4 pts) (AP)
- Harshit Pawar (4.5 pts) (DEL) drew with Krishna, CRG (4.5 pts) (RSPB)
- Shrayan Majumder (4 pts) (MAH) lost to Mehar Chinna Reddy C.H. (5 pts) (RSPB).
The 60th National Chess Championship continues to be a riveting arena for some of the nation’s finest chess players to demonstrate their skills and strategic prowess.
