Sai Krishna stuns Bangla GM Al Rakib to share the lead

FM Sai Krishna G V of India snatched a morale-boosting win over Bangladesh GM Mollah Abdullah Al Rakib in a tense eighth round match to join the lead bunch on the penultimate day of the Rs 29 lakh prize money 10th Mumbai Mayor's Cup International Open Chess Tournament today.
Sai joined compatriots GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J and GM Neelotpal Das, Ukraine GM Tukhaev Adam and Vietnam's GM Nguyen Duc Hoa at the top of the heap, all with 6.5 points each.
With two rounds remaining on the last day tomorrow, it will depend on which of the five players at the top manages to hold his nerves and emerges victorious.

Sai (ELO 2339), ranked 26th, capitalised on a lapse by seventh seed Al Rakib (ELO 2484) and turned it to his advantage and come out a winner.
He initially went for the king pawn opening but as the game progressed switched his plans. The Bangladesh GM seemed to have lost focus a bit and a slight miscalculation with the king on the 44th move allowed the Indian to get into a better position.
Sai fully exploited the situation by putting pressure on his opponent with a couple of checks. Al Rakib faced, with a grim position and with no way out, accepted defeat on the 52nd move.

Top-ranked Tajikistan GM Amonatov Farrukh (2635), fighting to stay close to the leaders, scored a win against GM Babujian Levon (2438) of Armenia.
Results (Round 8 - Top 10 boards): GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J (2480, IND)6.5 points drew with GM Tukhaev Adam (2567, UKR)6.5; GM Ghosh Diptayan (2569, IND) 6 drew with GM Neelotpal Das (2438, IND) 6.5; GM Grover Sahaj (2485, IND) 6 drew with GM Hossain Enamul (2464, BAN) 6; FM Sai Krishna G V (2339, IND) 6.5 beat GM Mollah Abdullah Al Rakib (2484, BAN) 5.5; GM Deviatkin Andrei (2481, RUS) 6 drew with IM Khusenkhojaev Muhammad (2424, TJK) 6; GM Nguyen Duc Hoa (2477, VIE) 6.5 beat GM Murshed Niaz (2423, BAN) 5.5; GM Babujian Levon (2438, ARM) 5.5 lost to GM Amonatov Farrukh (2635, TJK) 6; GM Rahman Ziaur (2526, BAN) 6 beat IM D P Singh (2132, IND) 5; FM Nitish Belurkar (2279, IND) 5.5 drew with IM Karthikeyan P (2502, IND) 5.5; FM Rathanvel V S (2332, IND) 5.5 drew with IM Nitin S (2427, IND) 5.5.