Grandmaster Pendyala Harikrishna scored a thumping victory over local hope Kadir Guseinov to remain in joint second spot along with compatriot Surya Shekhar Ganguly after the ninth round in the World Juniors chess championship in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan.
Top seed Shakhriyaz Mamedyarov, who lost a game against IM P Magesh Chandran earlier in the tournament, remained atop the table with another fine victory over fellow-Azerbaijani Vugar Gashimov and took his tally to 7 points.
Half a point adrift of the leader were Ganguly, who beat German Kritz Leonid, Harikrishna, Alexander Zubov of Ukraine and Sergei Azarov of Belarus.
Russian Vitaly Bachin and Israili Sergey Erenburg shared the fifth spot on 6 points each. Four more rounds remain in this 50-player competition.
In the girls' section, Georgian Nana Dzagnidze continued with her ominous form and cruised past Zehra Topel of Turkey for her seventh successive victory in as many games.
Dronavalli Harika (5.5 points) moved to sole second position with a technical victory over local Zeinab Mamedjarova. Harika is 1.5 points behind the leader but has a full point lead over next lot of players that include Asian Junior girls' champion Tania Sachdev and Saheli Nath.
The other Indians in the fray had a mixed day. Magesh Chandran struck form once again to win against S Arun Prasad, Deepan Chakravarthy went down to Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan, G Rohit came good against world Under-10 champion Safarli Eltaz of Azerbaijan and Abhijit Gupta was held to a draw by lower rated local Agayev Nidzat.
Saheli Nath proved a major hurdle and Romanian Cristinba Calotescu failed to cross successfully. The draw result took Saheli to joint third spot.
Tania Sachdev had little trouble in outplaying Aytaz Ismailova of Azerbaijan while Mahima Rajmohan drew with Martina Valickova of Czech Republic.
Harikrishna made excellent use of his white pieces yet again. Up against a Kings Indian, Harikrishna employed his pet Fianchetto variation and was in for a surprise as Guseinov went for a little off beat system.
The middle game gave Harikrishna a superior position even as minor pieces flew off the board in a heap. Guseinov cracked under pressure on the 24th move when he found his queen trapped on the edge of the board.
Ganguly was not far behind Harikrishna though his victory came in contrasting fashion. Berlin defence was the choice by Leonid but 'the wall' did not hold him in good stead.
After routine exchanges, the players arrived at a Rook and minor piece endgame where Ganguly's Kingside pawn majority proved too much for Leonid who made a decisive mistake on the 31st move and allowed a passed pawn. Ganguly wrapped the issue five moves later.
Harika was her usual composed self. It was a Grunfeld defence where Mamedjarova did not look like achieving even a semblance of an advantage out of the opening.
Stuck with an isolated queen pawn in the ensuing endgame Mamedjarova's position deteriorated as Harika made a foray with her rooks. The Azerbaijani lost a pawn on the 47th move and it took 18 moves more for Harika to register a win.
Tania punished Ismailova's erratic kingside attack with thematic breakthrough in the center. The result was an excellent Sicilian for the Indian who played black. Further attacking attempts by Ismailova were thwarted quite easily and Tania emerged with an extra piece after the dust settled. The game lasted 39 moves.
Important Results (Indians unless specified):
Boys' Round 9: Shakhriyaz Mamedyarov (7, Aze) beat Vugar Gashimov (5.5, Aze); Alexander Zubov (6.5, Ukr) beat Izoria Zviad (5.5, Geo); P Harikrishna (6.5) beat Kadir Guseinov (5.5, Aze); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (6.5) beat Kritz Leonid (5.5, Ger) Marcin Dziuba (5.5, Pol) lost to Sergei Azarov (6.5, Blr); Vitaly Bachin (6, Rus) drew Rustem Sadykov (5.5, Kaz); Kanep Meelis (4.5, Est) lost to Sergei Erenburg (6, Isr); Rauf Mamedov (5.5, Aze) beat Deepan Chakravarthy (4); P Magesh Chandran (50) beat S Arun Prasad (4); Safarli Eltaj (4, Aze) lost to G Rohit (5); Agayev Nidjat (3.5, Aze) drew Abhijit Gupta (3.5).
Girls' Round 7: Nana Dzagnidze (7, Geo) beat Zehra Topel (4, Tur); Zeinab Mamedjarova (4.5, Aze) lost to D Harika (5.5); Saheli Nath (4.5) drew Cristina Calotescu (4.5, Rom); Maria Sergeeva (3.5, Kaz) lost to Afag Khudaverdieva (4.5, Aze); Eesha Karavade (3.5) lost to Ekaterina Ubiennykh (4.5, Rus); Aytaj Ismailova (3.5, Aze) lost to Tania Sachdev (4.5); Shukurova Meihriban (3, Aze) lost to Turkan Mamdjarova (4, Aze); Mahima Rajmohan (3) drew Martina Valickova (3, Cze).