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Mtel Masters Chess: Sasikiran takes sole lead
Sasikiran beat overnight joint leader Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in the seventh round to jump into sole lead in the 3rd Mtel Masters International Chess tournament in Sofia.
India's Krishnan Sasikiran scored a memorable victory against overnight joint leader Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in the seventh round to jump into sole lead in the 3rd Mtel Masters International Chess tournament in Sofia.
It turned out to be a complicated affair for Sasikiran against Mamedyarov but the Indian was the one to keep nerves in this key encounter to register a victory that he will cherish for a long time.
As a result of this stupendous triumph Sasikiran, who is the lowest ranked player in the six-players double round robin tournament, emerged as sole leader on 4.5 points out of a possible seven and with only three rounds to come, is favoured to win his first super tournament.
Mamedyarov, former world champion and defending champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and English Michael Adams are joint second behind Sasikiran with 3.5 points each.
Grandmasters Gata Kamsky of United States and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania remained on the bottom of the tables in the category-20 event with 3 points apiece.
Sasikiran's was the only decisive game of round 7 while the remaining two battles ended in draws.
Sasikiran's was the game of the day and the Indian won also because Mamedyarov hunted for a victory. The English opening by the Azerbaijani as white got in to complexities right from the beginning of the middle game and Sasikiran was quite up to the task in giving it his best.
