Lalit Babu and Davtyan share the lead at Aurionpro Chess Tournament

Aurionpro Chess Tournament, M.R. Lalit Babu, Arsen Davtyan, Grandmaster Chess, Junior Chess, FM Aansh Nerurkar, CM Madhesh, Reti Opening, Sicilian Najdorf, King’s Indian Defence, Mumbai Chess, Chess Tournament 2023, GM Nguyen Duc Hoa, GM Boris Savchenko, French Defence

Hyderabad: GM M.R. Lalit Babu of Andhra Pradesh and IM Arsen Davtyan of Armenia maintained their perfect 5/5 record to share the joint lead after the fifth round in the Aurionpro International Grandmaster and Junior Chess Tournament at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai on Saturday.

The Junior tournament also heated up, with top seed FM Aansh Nerurkar of Mumbai and CM Madhesh sharing the top spot with 5 points after five rounds. The two leaders face off in the sixth round, which should help in identifying the sole leader.

---

While GM Lalit Babu outmanoeuvred GM Nguyen Duc Hoa in a positional grind from the English Opening, IM Arsen Davtyan defeated GM Nikitenko Mihail using the Long Castle Variation in the King’s Indian Defence.

In another interesting encounter, GM Boris Savchenko held GM Manuel Petrosyan to a draw with a solid Reti Opening. Chasing the leaders are five players on 4.5 points.

FM Aansh Nerurkar maintained his perfect record, defeating AIM Adhiraj Mitra with a precise handling of the Sicilian Najdorf.

Matching him was Madhesh Kumar, who defeated CM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma using the sharp Winawer Variation of the French Defence.