KATHMANDU, April 17: International master Harsha Bharathakothi (2424) has secured a seven-point lead after the eight rounds of matches after defeating grand master Deep Sen Gupta (2579) in the ongoing Kathmandu GM International Open Chess Tournament on Monday. 

Ukraine’s 2549 rated grand master Tarlev Constantin and Azerbaijan’s 2504 rated grand master Mirjorv Ajar played a draw. Both are joint second with 6.5 points each. 

Israeli grand master Greenfield Alon (2490) beat India’s Sreejit Patil, while India’s international master Himal Goshain saw off his compatriot Saptarshi Gupta. They are also joint second with 6.5 points each. Likewise, India’s grand master Sandipan Chanda played a draw with his compatriot and international master P Shamnikhil. The latter has 6.5 points. 

Nepal’s highest rated Bibek Thing (2263) is joint third with six points as he beat India’s Subham Shukla in the eighth round. 

India’s grand master Shreeram Jha beat his compatriot and international master Paddhini Raut in the eighth round and has six points. 

Russia’s two grand masters Fomini Alexander (2391) and Volkov Sargei (2598) have six points each after playing a draw. 

Grand master of Belarus Kasparov Sargei was defeated by India’s GB Harshabardhan, while India’s international master Prince Bajaj defeated Subhayan Kundu. Both the winning players have six points each. 

India’s Kostuv Kundu overcame Nepal’s candidates master Nabin Tandukar, while India’s Nilesh Shah beat his compatriot Nirajan Nabhalgadh. Both have secured the third spot with six points each. 

Nepal’s FIDE master Rupesh Jaiswal played a draw with India’s Pratik Patil and has 5.5 points before the ninth round begins. 

Nepal’s Sushrut Dahal (1792) defeated India’s international master Anup Deshmukh (2282), while Nepal’s Madan Krishna Kayastha saw off India’s Bhagyashree Patil. Both have 5.5 points each.  Nepal’s candidates master Keshav Shrestha was defeated by India’s Subhradipta Das, while India’s FIDE master C Laxmi saw off Badri Lal Nepali. 

Similarly, Bangladeshi FIDE Master Abdul Mohammad beat India’s Syantan Chandra and has five points, while Romania’s international master Lami Alina overcame India’s Punyaman Karmacharya. 
 

 
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