Koneru Humpy scored a timely win in the ninth round and remained in contention for the title in the 2nd Mumbai Mayor's Cup Chess tournament. Humpy's win with white pieces against Suvrajit Saha of Railways was the only decisive result on the top six boards and helped the Indian world number 2 woman player jump to joint second position.
With games on the top three boards ending in draws, six players are separated by just half-a-point in this tight race for the top prize of Rs 2 lakhs. Overnight leader Alexander Areshchenko of Ukraine drew with his compatriot Evgenij Miroshnichenko, the top seed, and maintained his slender lead with eight points. Results: Evgenij Miroshnichenko (UKR - 7.5) drew with Alexander Areshchenko (UKR - 8); Deepan Chakkravarthy (7.5) drew with P Magesh Chandran (7.5); Vladimir Belov (RUS - 7.5) drew with Shukhrat Safin (UZB - 7); Koneru Humpy (7.5) bt Suvrajit Saha (6.5)