Vikramjit, Tillayev shock Grandmasters in Gurgaon chess

Gurgaon: Grandmasters Arun Prasad and Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan suffered shock defeats by Vikramjit Singh and Tillayev Ulugbek in the third round of the Gurgaon International Grandmasters Chess Tournament at the Suncity World School here Friday.

Playing with white pieces in classical variation of Nimzo-Indian Defence, Vikramjit sacrificed his bishop in the middle game to destroy the pawn structure of his fancied rival and went on to garner full points after just 28 moves, while Tillayev displayed sheer attacking skills to outwit compatriot Grandmaster rival in 41 moves. Meanwhile, top seed Kravtsiv Martyn of Ukraine and second seed Oliver Barbosa of the Philippines continued their winning ways as they overpowered Indians Akash P.C. Iyer and Arjun Tiwari, respectively. Among Indians, Grandmaster Sahaj Grover defeated Abhilash Reddy while International Masters Swayams Mishra, Shyam Nikil and Satyapragyn moved to the fourth round with full points.