Harikrishna, Barua share lead

Grandmaster Pendyala Harikrishna, who beat International Master V Koshy, and GM D Barua, who accounted for IM R B Ramesh, emerged joint leaders with six points apiece at the conclusion of the seventh round in the Bharat Petroleum 39th national 'A' chess championship in Nagpur on Wednesday.

The leaders are followed by IM Sriram Jha, who has 5.5 points to his credit.

Harikrishna, who played white against Koshy and faced the modern defence, was positionally too strong. He sacrificed a pawn, won the exchange and the round confortably in three moves.

The game between Barua (white) and Ramesh was of a Sicilian defence. After Ramesh made the unforced error of exposing his king, Barua won a pawn, which Ramesh thought was well defended. Barua, had, however, seen deeper and comfortably won in 34 moves.

GM Krishnan Sasikiran, playing white against GM Pravin Thipsay, faced the kings Indian defence. By the 18th move, the battlelines were clearly drawn. Sasikiran pushed his pawn mass on the queenside, while Thipsay did the same thing on the kingside. Once Thipsay posted his knight on the d4 square, he had the better game. In his anxiety to exchange the knight, Sasikiran blundered his knight on the 21st move and immediately resigned.