Al Ain: Indian Grand Masters Surya Sekhar Ganguly and Vishnu Prasanna share the lead with perfect three-point slates after as many rounds of the $87,000 (Dh319,551) Asian Continental Championship at the Hilton Hotel in Al Ain.
In the women’s division, 18-year-old WGM Aulia Medina Warda of Indonesia and Iranian WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan are tied for the lead with three points each.
Ganguly, 32, is a six-time Indian national champion from Kolkata and winner of the Asian Continental championship in 2009. He beat GM Jahongir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan in a marathon 72 moves in the third round on Tuesday. Well known in the team of former world champion Viswanathan Anand, Ganguly works as a Deputy Manager at the Indian Oil Corporation.
Chennai local Prasanna, who works for the Airports Authority of India, crushed compatriot Lalith Babu.
Three more Indians — GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Chanda Sandipan and Abhijeet Gupta — are in a group of eight poised half a point behind the leaders. Also in the tie for second are local hero Saleh A.R. Salem of the UAE, Chinese IMs Lin Chen and Wang Chen, and Iranian GMs Idani Pouya and Darini Pouria.
Gujrathi, 21, winner of the World Youth Under-14s in 2008, beat GM Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam in 34 moves, while Gupta overcame GM Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan in 35 moves and Sandipan and Chinese IM Wang Chen drew in a marathon 100 moves.
In the women’s division, three Indians follow half a point behind the leaders — WGM Soumya Swaminathan, WGM Mary Ann Gomes and IM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman. Tied with them at 2.5 points each are WGM Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan and WGM Zhang Xiaowen of China.
Pourkashiyan crushed erstwhile leader Padmini Rout of India, delivering checkmate on the 41st move, while Warda forced Iran’s Raana Hakimifard to resign in 34 moves.
The event is organised by the Asian Chess Federation in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and UAE Chess Federation.
