Pardubice (Czech Republic): Grand Masters K Sasikiran and P Harikrishna shot back into reckoning for top honours with resounding victories over GMs Gennadi Gutman of Ukraine and Murey Jacob of Israel in the 8th and penultimate round of the Czech Grand Master open chess tournament.

GM Zbynek Hracek of Czech Republic played a draw with second seed GM Macieja Bartlomiej of Poland and was joined by GM Peter Acs of Hungary and GM Dimitry Jakovenko of Russia at the top of the tables on 6.5 points each. Sixteen players including Sasikiran and Harikrishna follow the three leaders with 6 points each and Sasikiran is well placed to eclipse one leader (Jakovenko) whom he plays in the final round.

GM Dibyendu Barua and double GM norm holder Surya Shekhar Ganguly have 5.5 points apiece alongside 29 others. It was a fine display of positional chess from National Champion Sasikiran who played white against Gutman.

In a King's Indian defence game, Sasikiran employed the Classical set up and went for a relatively new plan that caught Gutman off guard. With slow but effective deployment of pieces Sasikiran tightened the noose and crashed through Gutman's defences on the queen side first with his queen penetration and then by guiding his rook on the queen file.

Gutman was forced to part with a pawn but his counter play bid never materialised. Sasikiran put the final nail in the coffin with a tactical stroke that won him further material and the game in just 37 moves.

PTI