Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran outclassed GM Curt Hansen of Denmark and jumped into joint lead after the end of the fourth round of Sigeman chess tournament in Sweden.
With his second victory in the event, Sasikiran took his tally to 3 points out of a possible four and joined overnight leaders Hikaru Nakamura of United States, Jan Timman of the Netherlands and Viorel Iordachescu at the top of the tables after all of them were held to draws on day four.
After a few stormy sessions that gave as many as 11 decisive games in first three rounds, the players eventually decided to calm down a bit and the day's only victory was carved out by Sasikiran. In the previous round the Indian was involved in the lone drawn encounter.
With five rounds still to come in the category-13 round robin tournament between 10 players, it has already become a race between the leaders as the nearest contender Hansen is already a full point behind with a few tough games still lined up.
Swedish duo of Tigar Hillarp Persson and Jonny Hector stand next in line on 1.5 points along with Dane Sune Berg Hansen while Davor Palo is on 9th position on just one point.
Interestingly enough, young Swede International Master Emil Hermansson eventually opened his account in the event after three successive losses, holding the mighty Nakamura to a creditable draw.