Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] June 21 : Grandmaster Lalit Babu MR of Andhra Pradesh and IM Arsen Davtyan of Armenia maintained their perfect 5/5 record to share the joint lead after round 5 of the Aurionpro International Grandmaster and Junior Chess Tournament at the World Trade Centre, according to a release from Aurionpro International Grandmaster and Junior Chess Tournament.
The Junior tournament also heated up, with top seed and FM Aansh Nerurkar of Mumbai and CM Madhesh sharing the top spot with 5 points after 5 rounds. The two leaders face off in Round 6, which should help in identifying the sole leader.
While GM Lalit Babu outmanoeuvred GM Nguyen Duc Hoa in a positional grind from the English Opening, IM Arsen Davtyan defeated GM Nikitenko Mihail using the Long Castle Variation in the King's Indian Defence.
In another interesting encounter, GM Boris Savchenko held GM Manuel Petrosyan to a draw with a solid Reti Opening. Chasing the leaders are five players on 4.5 points.
FM Aansh Nerurkar maintained his perfect record, defeating AIM Adhiraj Mitra with a precise handling of the Sicilian Najdorf.
Matching him was Madhesh Kumar, who defeated CM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma using the sharp Winawer Variation of the French Defence.
GM tournament leaders after 5 rounds:
GM Lalit Babu and IM Arsenal Davtyan 5/5
Chasing the Leaders (4.5/5):
GM Levan Pantsulaia
GM Luka Paichadze
GM Mamikon Garibyan
IM Alexander Slizhevsky
GM Aleksej Alexandro
IM Buddhidhama Nayaka.