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Sasikiran starts with easy win
Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran launched his campaign with an easy victory in the first round of the masters' section of Gibtele.com chess festival.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:49 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Gibraltar:
Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran launched his campaign with an easy victory in the first round of the masters' section of Gibtele.com chess festival. He beat G M Juan Manuel Bellon Lopez of Spain while top seed Alexei Shirov had to split points. Shirov's draw with International Master John Shaw of Scotland was the only upset on a day when most of the other seeded players coasted to victories in this strong section. The event, being played under FIDE's Swiss rules, has attracted 120 participants including 25 Grandmasters from across the globe. It carries a total prize pool of over 15,000 Pounds Sterling (over Rs 12 lakh). The winner will take home 4,000 Pounds. Smooth contest For Sasikiran, it turned out to be a smooth contest as Lopez was at sea soon after the opening. Playing white, the Indian was up against a Slav defence where Lopez, in his bid to get the position out of known theoretical lines, went haywire and allowed Sasikiran an absolute bind on the king side. Nursing his advantage well, Sasikiran won a pawn and quickly traded pieces to reach a rook and pawns endgame. Lopez resigned on the 49th move. Latvian-born Shirov went for his trademark attacking position but unfortunately for him, Shaw, who employed the Phillidor defence as black, proved a tough customer. (PTI)Topics mentioned in this article
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