Kotsur in joint lead with Deepan

Hyderabad, Mar 3 (UNI) Grandmaster Pavel Kotsur of Kazakhstan caught up with International Master J Deepan Chakravarthy in lead with a fine victory over IM P Konguvel in the 8th round of ONGC Cup International Grandmasters Chess Tournament at the KVBR Indoor Stadium here today.

Chakravarthy played an exciting game and finally drew with Reefat Bin Sattar of Bangladesh to inch to seven points and almost made sure of his second GM norm.

The Indian had earlier achieved his first G M norm by winning the Asian Junior Chess Championship a few years back at Colombo in Sri Lanka.

While both Chakravarthy and Kotsur are locked at seven points each, Sattar and compatriot Enamul Hossain Rajib, Alexander Fominyh of Russia and Indians GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly, GM Pravin Thipsay and IM S Arun Prasad are closing in on the leaders with 6.5 points each in the Rs 8.25 lakhs prize money tournament.

With just two rounds remaining in the Swiss system tournament, as many as 13 players are also in the reckoning for top prizes having six points each.

Among them are GM R B Ramesh, GM Dibyendu Barua, IM S Kidambi, Bangladeshi duo of GM Niaz Murshed and GM Ziaur Rahman and local stalwarts K Ramu and M R Lalith Babu.

Kotsur's game was easily the pick of the day after Konguvel went haywire while trying to get a better position. 'I misjudged the position, perhaps,' said the ONGC employee after the game.

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