Lalith Babu noses ahead with sole lead at Delhi International Open Chess tournament

MR Lalith Babu nosed ahead after defeating young International Master Shahil Dey in the fifth round of the 19th Delhi International Open Chess tournament on Friday.

Grand Master and former Commonwealth champion Lalith Babu notched up his fifth successive win to emerge as the sole leader now underway at Tivoli Gardens in New Delhi.

Lalith, who is coming fresh from winning as many as four international events in different countries, maintained a clean slate at the halfway stage of this ₹25 lakh prize money tournament.

Lalith Babu begins with Larsen opening against Shahil Dey

Lalith capitalized on a massive oversight by Shahil Dey. Starting out with Larsen's opener, Shahil Dey got an even midgame as Lalith Babu meticulously developed his forces.

On the 24th move disaster struck Dey as he thought he was playing the winning move through a Knight sacrifice but overlooked a deft reply that turned the tables immediately. Lalith, who has been in exemplary form, did not give a second chance and wrapped up the issue in 39 moves.

P Iniyan holds top seed Arjun Erigaisi in the fifth round

Arjun Erigaisi’s winning run was halted by fellow P Iniyan, who played out the draw with pieces. Arjun now shares the second spot with Iniyan and seven others with 4.5 points apiece. With five rounds still to come, as many as 30 players are on the toes of these nine with four points each in their kitty.

Iniyan employed a topical variation to counter Arjun’s Sicilian Sveshnikov. Midgame was interestingly poised when Iniyan parted with his queen for two rooks but his earlier sacrifice had meant that Arjun also had an extra pawn. However with a handful of extra pawns, Iniyan made another sacrifice to create a brilliant fortress where Arjun’s Queen was helpless against a lone rook. The game was drawn after 41 moves.

Important Results (Round 5) (Indians otherwise stated)

GM Iniyan P (4.5) drew with GM Arjun Erigaisi (4.5)

IM Shahil Dey (4) lost to GM Lalith Babu MR (5)

GM Visakh NR (4.5) drew with GM Mirzoev Azer of Azerbaijan (4.5)

FM Seyed Kiran Poormosavi of Iran (4) lost to GM Arjun Kalyan (4.5)

GM Pavel Ponkratov of Russia (4.5) beat IM Neelash Saha (3.5)

GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay (4.5) beat IM Harshvardhan GB (3.5)

Gholami Orimi Mahadi of Iran (4) drew with GM Sethuraman SP (4)

GM Mitrabha Guha (4) drew with IM Srihari LR (4)

GM Harsha Bharathakoti (4.5) beat IM Anuj Shrivatri (3.5)

GM Karthik Venkataraman (4.5) beat Yashita Rout (3.5)

IM Shyaamnikhil P (4) drew with IM Sayantan Das (4)

IM Krishna CRG (4) beat FM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka (3.5)

GM Gukesh D (4) beat CM Ojasva Singh (3)

Manigandan SS (3) lost to Deepan Chakkravarthy J (4)

Santu Mondal (3) lost to GM Masoud Mosadeghpour of Iran (4)

IM Romesh Weerawardane (3) lost to GM Adham Fawzy of Egypt (4)

Shaik Sumer Arsh (3) lost to IM Tahbaz Arash of Iran (4)

IM Ortik Nigmatov of Uzbekistan (4) beat Ilamparathi AR (3)

Sahib Singh (3) lost to Vignesh NR (4)

Ritvik Krishnan (3) lost to IM Abdisalimov Abdimalik (4)

Ambesh Pratap Singh (3.5) drew with Himal Gusain (3.5)

Sidhant Mohapatra (3.5) drew with Sathvik Adiga (3.5).