Shreyansh Somaiya's strategic victory over Palaash Mapara has dramatically altered the leaderboard at the All India Chess Masters tournament, creating a three-way tie for first place.
Shreyansh Somaiya inflicted a defeat on Palaash Mapara to end his run as the sole leader in their sixth round contest of the All India Chess Masters here on Thursday.
Somaiya now shares the lead with Shriram Mhasane and AGM Rajveer Nahar, who all are on 5.5 points each in the FIDE Classical Tournament.
Playing on the top board with white pieces, Palaash was unable to counter Shreyansh's clever tactical manoeuvres and suffered his first loss of the competition.
Results (top 10): Palaash Mapara (5) lost to Shreyansh Somaiya (5.5) - 0-1; Pratik Yadnik (4.5) lost to Shriram Mhasane (5.5) - 0-1; AGM Rajveer Nahar (5.5) beat Yashraj Rathi (4.5) - 1-0; Amay Dandekar (4) lost to Tanuj Dayal (5) - 0-1; Arjun Singh (5) beat Dhruv Muthe (4) - 1-0; Naitikk Mane (4) lost to Deepak Soni (5) - 0-1; Kathit Shelar (5) beat Preyas Waghmare (4) - 1-0; AIM Aakashkumar (4) lost to Prisha Margaj (5) - 0-1; Anirudh Iyer (4.5) drew with AFM Sohum Pawar (4.5) - 0.5-0.5; Arin Bhatavadekar (5) beat Akshay Chachad (4) - 1-0.