Indian Grandmaster B. Adhiban beat compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the seventh round to move within half-a-point of the leader Rauf Mamedov in the ‘A’ group of the Aeroflot Open chess tournament in Moscow.
The Chennai-based GM won in 60 moves to take his tally to five points for a joint second spot. Azerbaijan’s Mamedov is the sole leader on 5.5 points. Adhiban will meet Mamedov in an interesting clash in the eighth round.
READ | Aeroflot Open: Rauf Mamedov halts young Bharat Subramaniyam’s good run
Adibhan’s compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram, the national champion, outplayed 13-year-old compatriot Bharat Subramaniyam in 32 moves on Tuesday to take his score to five points and join the group of eight players trailing the leader.
Mamedov settled for a draw with Russia’s Sanan Sjugirov, who, along with another Russian David Paravyan, is also on five points.
Among other Indian players, Karthikeyan Murali and S P Sethuraman played out a draw between themselves while the talented R. Praggnanandhaa and Javokhir Sindarov signed peace in 38 moves.
Top-seed Vladislav Artemiev, who is having an underwhelming tournament, secured a win over Sanal Vahap to reach four points.
