International Master T S Ravi held third seed Grandmaster Saidali Iuldachev to a creditable draw in the first round of the Pune International Open Chess tournament at Le Royale Residency Club here today. Top seed Grandmaster Evgeny Vladimirov of Kazakhstan got the better of former Commonwealth Champion Atanu Lahiri on a tough first day. Many seeds were held to draws by lower rated opponents in the USD 12,000 prize money tournament played under FIDE's Swiss rules. Feeling the early heat were the likes of Alexander Fominyh of Russia who had to sign peace with talented S Arun Prasad, Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan who could not do much against the solid play of Roktim Bandhyopadhyay.Tejas Bakre was taken to task by N Sanjay while R B Ramesh was held by Suvrajit Saha and Pravin Thipsay. For Vladimirov too it was a tough day in office as he battled a rejuvenated Lahiri. Playing the Nimzo Indian as black, Vladimirov did not lose his sense of humour though. "My opponent lost the game, I did not win it," was how he analysed the game. Lahiri enjoyed a favourable position for the major part in the middle game but failed to keep the momentum ticking in his favour and the end result was hardly encouraging after a fine show. Fominyh tested his technical prowess against Arun Prasad for a change but to no avail. Playing white, the Russian was up against the Queen's Gambit declined and though he managed to get complexeities in his favour, Prasad was always on guard. A gritty defence in the final stages of the game secured the draw for Indian. (PTI)
Ravi plays a draw with third seed
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