Grandmaster and former national champion B Adhiban bounced back from an inferior position to beat Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh and remain in joint lead after the end of the sixth round of Asian Continental Chess championship here today.
The Indian remained in pole position thanks to the hard-earned victory and he can now hope for a decent finish, which can find him in the coveted top five slots.
The top five here will earn a seat in the 2015 World Chess Cup at Baku in Azerbaijan.
With just three rounds remaining in this championship, which is a part of the next world championship cycle, Adhiban shared the lead with former world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan and Yu Yangyi of China.
With three leaders on five points out of a possible six, Chinese duo of Ni Hua and Bu Xiangzhi shared the fourth spot on 4.5 points apiece, while the likes of Krishnan Sasikiran and Parimarjan Negi were another half point adrift.
Adhiban made the most of his chances against Rahman after surviving some anxious moments in middle game. Opting for the Catalan opening as white, Rahman got a tangible advantage out of the opening and controlled the centre and the queenside.
Adhiban got a chance when a serious lapse in concentration by Rahman led to complexities and suddenly the tables were turned when the Indian sacrificed a Bishop to rip apart white's king side. There was no looking back thereafter as Adhiban's queen and rook did the damage.
The other overnight leader, S P Sethuraman however could not keep the momentum ticking as he lost to world junior champion Yu Yangyi. The Taimanov sicilian by the Chinese player did the damage in the middle game when Sethuraman allowed a tactical skirmish leading to loss of a couple of pawns. As the queens got traded too, there was no hope left.
The two Indian stars -- Sasikiran and Negi -- scored morale boosting victories and readied themselves for the final lap. Sasikiran was relentless in his effort against compatriot Debashish Das and Negi outwitted Pouya Idani of Iran effortlessly.
