Arjun back on winning track; four share lead after third round
DOHA: India’s top seeded Grandmaster Arjun Arigaisi was back in his winning ways after he defeated Uzbekistan Said Akbar Sidaliyev in the third round of 4th Qatar Masters International Open Chess here on Thursday.
FIDE Master Andrey Esipenko, Armeina’s GM Shant Sargsyan, Bulgaria’s Arkadij Naiditsch and Iran’s Pouya Idani shared the points tally with three points each. Naiditsch, seeded 16th, defeated Russia’s Polina Shuvalova, seeded 37th.
A total of 300 players from 25 countries are taking part in the competition.
Uzbekistan’s defending champion Nodirbek Yakubboev, who is ranked ninth in the world, tied with Iran’s Artin Ashraf, ranked 74th.
Indian Grandmaster Surya Sekhar Ganguly had it easy against his Russian opponent Andrei Isipenko. Ganguly now has two points.
Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, ranked sixth in the world and runner-up in the last tournament, garnered full points against Poland’s Alicja Sliwicka.
Qatar’s International Master Hussein Aziz lost to his Cuban competitor, Luis Ernesto Quesada Pérez, ranked 27th.
The confrontation between Iranian Reza Mahdavi, ranked 71st and the previous leader in the rankings, against his compatriot Bardia Daneshvar, ranked 23rd, ended in a draw.
