SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 19: Shubham Kumar from Bihar emerged as the sole leader with a half-point advantage over his competitors after the completion of seven rounds in the FIDE rating chess tournament, being held at St. Xavier’s Welfare Centre, Chaibasa, on Saturday.
Unbeaten run
In the 7th round, Shubham Kumar, who now has 6.5 points, maintained his unbeaten streak by drawing against Rupesh Ramchandra, who stands at 6 points.
Shubham is set to face Gagan Sahu of Chhattisgarh in the 8th round, scheduled for tomorrow. Gagan secured his spot by defeating Avinav Singh in the 7th round.
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Close competition for the title
Defending champion Anurag Jaiswal from Bengal, with 6 points, is tied for second place alongside Rupesh Ramchandra. Anurag strengthened his position by defeating Manideep Mukhi of Jharkhand in the 7th round.
Meanwhile, Adhiraj Mitra from Jharkhand, who had been among the leaders until the 5th round, was held to a draw by Bengal’s Ishani Pathak. In the 8th round, Ishani is set to compete against Abhijit Das.
Veteran players shine in their categories
Organizing Secretary Basant Khandelwal announced that veteran player Chandrashekhar Rao from Jharkhand, with five points, and Narendra Nath Pandey, who has 4.5 points, have reached the top of their respective categories.
Mukund Rungta, president of the West Singhbhum District Chess Association, visited the tournament venue and encouraged the participants to give their best. The event is being supervised by International Arbiter Jayant Bhuyan from Jharkhand.
