Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Chinese Grandmaster Bu Xiangzhi in the penultimate round and fell out of contention for a decent finish in the Aeroflot International Open chess tournament in Moscow.
Russian GM Andrei Kharlov made another step forward for his first major international title as he settled for a quick draw with compatriot Sergey Volkov to take his tally to 6.5 points.
With just one round to go in this USD 30,000 first prize tournament, Kharlov maintained his slender half a point lead over Volkov.
Volkov was joined by Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in second spot after the latter scored a scintillating victory over Israeli Emil Sutovsky.
As many as nine players including Sutovsky and top seed Etinne Bacrot of France are next in line with 5.5 points each in their bags while another pack of 10 players is half a point adrift.
Despite his mediocre show, Sasikiran, remains the best performing Indian in this strongest open event of the world with four points as National Champion and GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly (3.5 points) bowed down to Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova in the penultimate round game.
GM Sandipan Chanda scored his first victory in the event, accounting for Qatar's GM Mohamad Al-Modiahki but the victory only took him to 3.5 points.
In the 'A2' only International Master S Kidambi is within striking distance of finishing among prizes. The Chennai-based player, who recently made it to the Indian team, did well to beat Alexander Obukhov of Russia and took his tally to five points out of a possible eight.
This section is now led solely by Arsen Yegiazarian of Armenia who has 6.5 points in his kitty while five players are in close persuit for top honours here with 6 points apiece.
The other Indians in the 'A2' did not have a day to remember as GM Tejas Bakre played an uneventful draw with Marat Askarov of Russia. Eesha Karavade drew with Nikolay Konovalov while Tania Sachdev achieved the same result with Ekaterina Korbut. Parimarjan Negi went down to Arseny Alavkin.
However in the 'B' group lone Inidna International Master Dinesh Kumar Sharma came good in the final round game against Egor Krivoborodov, also of Russia. The victory enabled Sharma to finish amongst the prize winners in this section.
Sasikiran went all out for victory against Xiangzhi, once the youngest GM of the World.
Playing the white side of a Semi Slav opening, the Indian faced stiff challenge from his tactically alert opponent in the middle game and his pawn sacrifice did not come up to personal expectations as Xiangzhi defended nicely to maintain the dynamic balance.
Going for the kill, Sasikiran managed to win three black pieces in exchange for his queen but the nature of the position favoured the Chinese as there was a certain lack of coordination between the pieces of the Indian.
Knocking down two minor pieces for a rook in the later part of the game, Xiangzhi ensured only technicalities remained in the game and romped home after 75 moves.
Ivanchuk is known for taking the bull by its horns and he did precisely that against Sutovsky. Inviting early attack vide a piece sacrifice, Ivanchuk unleashed a series of attacks and in the end Sutovsky found himself a piece down with little compensation. The game lasted 34 moves.
Results:
'A1': Andrei Kharlov (Rus, 6.5) drew with Sergey Volkov (Rus, 6); Emil Sutovsky (Isr, 5.5) lost to Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukr, 6); Viktor Bologan (Mda, 5.5) drew with Pavel Eljanov (Ukr, 5.5); Alexander Khalifman (Rus, 5.5) drew with Alexander Motylev (Rus, 5.5); Etienne Bacrot (Fra, 5.5) beat Valerij Filippov (Rus, 4.5); Vitaly Tseshkovsky (Rus, 4.5) lost to Vladimir Akopian (Arm, 5.5); Loek Van Wely (Ned, 5) drew with Mikhail Kobalia (Rus, 5); Alexander Riazantsev (Rus, 5) drew with Konstantin Sakaev (Rus, 5); Teimour Radjabov (Aze, 5.5) beat Alexander Areshchenko (Ukr, 4.5); Aleksei Lugovoi (Rus, 4.5) lost to Vladimir Malakhov (Rus, 5.5) Levon Aronian (Arm, 5) beat Evgeny Postny (Isr, 4.5); Krishnan Sasikiran (4) lost to Bu Xiangzhi (Chn, 5); Gabriel Sargissian (Arm, 5) beat Gregory Kaidanov (USA, 4); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (3.5) lost to Viorel Iordachescu (Mda, 4.5); Mohamad Al-Modiahki (Qat, 2.5) lost to Sandipan Chanda (3.5).
'A2': Arsen Yegiazarian (Arm, 6.5) beat Denis Khismatullin (Rus, 5.5); Vladimir Potkin (Rus, 6) drew with Sergey Zagernelny (Uzb, 6); Sergey Dyashckov (Rus, 5.5) drew with Anton Shomoev (Rus, 5.5); Rauf Mamedov (Aze, 5.5) drew with Sergey Grigoriants (Rus, 5.5); Davit Magalashmili (Geo, 5.5) drew with Stelios Halkias (Gre, 5.5); Alexander Kharitonov (Rus, 6) beat Evgeny Vorobiov (Rus, 5); Josep Manuel Lopez Martinez (Esp, 5) lost to Konstantin Lerner (Rus, 6); Leonid Yurtaev (Kgz, 5) lost to Wang Hao (Chn, 6); Alexander Goloshchapov (Ukr, 4.5) lost to Zhao Jianchao (Chn, 6); Lev Psakhis (Isr, 5.5) beat Boris Savchenko (Rus, 4.5); Alexander Obukhov (Rus, 4) lost to S Kidambi (5); Tejas Bakre (4) drew with Marat Askarov (Rus, 4); Arseny Alavkin (Rus, 4.5) beat Parimarjan Negi (3.5); Eesha Karavade (3) drew with Nikolay Konovalov (Rus, 3); Ekaterina Korbut (Rus, 3) drew with Tania Sachdev (3).