Roller-coaster ride for defending champion Sethuraman

After a winning start, he lost in the second round, before bouncing back to register victories in the next two to become one of the joint leaders after the fourth round. Defeat in the fifth and sixth rounds was a setback for him, but those who have been closely following his career, say that he has it in him to make a strong comeback and that the rest day (Saturday) would do him much good.

Published : Nov 21, 2015 19:40 IST , Tiruvarur

S. P. Sethuraman clinched his first national chess title last year.
S. P. Sethuraman clinched his first national chess title last year.
lightbox-info

S. P. Sethuraman clinched his first national chess title last year.

It has been a roller-coaster ride for defending champion GM S. P. Sethuraman in the first six rounds of the ONGC 53rd National Premier chess championship here.

After a winning start, he lost in the second round, before bouncing back to register victories in the next two to become one of the joint leaders after the fourth round. Defeat in the fifth and sixth rounds was a setback for him, but those who have been closely following his career, say that he has it in him to make a strong comeback and that the rest day (Saturday) would do him much good.

Meanwhile, GM Vidit Gujrathi has remained unbeaten in the championship so far with three wins and three draws. He is the sole leader with 4.5 points. “Ideally, I would have liked to have more points. I am looking forward to scaling up the intensity in the coming rounds,” he says.

IM Arghyadip Das, another undefeated player in the championship so far, and IM P. Karthikeyan are in the joint second spot, just 0.5 points behind the leader. GM Karthikeyan Murali, GM M. Shyam Sundar, and GM-elect Swapnil S. Dhopade are sharing the third spot with 3.5 points each.

With the second phase of the tournament set to commence on Sunday, the stage is set for absorbing contests in the next seven rounds of the championship, which has lived up to its billing.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment