International Chess Tournament: Duty Holds Nitin Babu and Bhupnath Stands Equal with IM Dinesh Sharma

Udaipur | The five-day 1st Udaipur International Chess Tournament, organized by the District Chess Association Udaipur, is being held at Hotel Solitaire, Shobhagpura. On the third day of the tournament, the fifth round was inaugurated by Dr. Kailash Sodani, Vice-Chancellor of Vardhman Mahavir Open University, Kota. Dr. Sodani, who is also a former chess player, became so engrossed in the game that he started playing chess himself after making the opening move.

According to organizing secretary Swati Saruparia, during the conclusion of the fifth round, Gujarat's 2086-rated Anadkat Duty drew with Kerala's 2305-rated Nitin Babu at the top table. Similarly, Uttar Pradesh (LIC) 2206-rated IM Dinesh Sharma was held to a draw by Bihar's 1886-rated Bhupnath, maintaining their position in the title race with 4 points. 

In other notable matches, Maharashtra’s 2075-rated Ram Vishal Parab (Under 15) was defeated by Maharashtra’s 2129-rated Mahindrakar Indrajit. Kerala’s 1916-rated Karan JP lost to Maharashtra’s 2011-rated Atharv Soni (Under 13). Delhi’s 2009-rated Ishan Wadhawan won against Bihar’s 1850-rated Sharma Vivek. West Bengal’s 1982-rated KK Chatterjee (Senior 60) was defeated by Maharashtra’s 1803-rated Kherdekar Arnav. Gujarat’s 1802-rated Ankit Chudasama drew with Assam’s 1971-rated Debojit Dey. Andhra Pradesh’s 1969-rated Kolla Bhavani (Under 13) drew with Delhi’s 1794-rated Saikat Nath.

Maharashtra’s 1717-rated Apurva Shekhar Deshmukh was defeated by Bihar’s 1960-rated Kishan Kumar. Kerala’s 1932-rated Abhishek TM won against Maharashtra’s 1727-rated Darsh Shetty. Meanwhile, the match between Maharashtra’s 2093-rated Sahu Vikramaditya and Maharashtra’s 1762-rated Chinmay Kannan Iyer (Under 13) ended in a draw.