Armenia’s Shant Sargsyan (left) and India’s Arjun Erigaisi during the seventh round.
Doha, Qatar: Armenia’s Shant Sargsyan yesterday drew with India’s pre-tournament title-favourite Arjun Erigaisi in the 7th round of Qatar Masters Open 2024 to maintain the lead along with Russian Andrey Esipenko with 6 points each.
Playing with white pieces on the table 2 at Aspire Zone Hall, Grandmaster Esipenko defeated UAE’s Abdulrahman Saleh Salem.
Esipenko and Sargsyan both have won five out of the seven matches they have played so far, and have drawn two each.
Salem, who is the best among Arab players in the tournament so far, now tied at five points along with 10 other players.
The World No.4 Erigaisi, the top seed in the prestigious tournament, is currently at 5.5 points, same as his Indian compatriot Murali Karthikeyan.
Speaking after his round 7 match, Karthikeyan said that the title win is still a possibility for the top seven players, but stressed the difficulty of the competition.
“I was lucky in today’s match and was able to achieve victory, and I believe that the chances are still there for all the players in the first 7 places to win the title. I will try to make more effort so that I can win tomorrow’s match,” he said.
Karthikeyan, ranked 101st in the world, praised the organisation, expressing his great happiness to be in Qatar and participate in the fourth edition.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s International Master Husain Aziz secured his second win in as many days, defeating India’s Mahendru Jaiveer to raise his score to 3.5 points. Aziz had earlier defeated Poland’s Oliwia Kiolbasa.
Uzbekistan’s World No.6 Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the runner-up in the last edition of the Qatar Masters, defeated India’s Bharath Subramaniyam to raise his tally to 5 points. Nodirbek Yakubboev, the defending champion, shared points with Uzbek compatriot Mukhiddin Madaminov to raise his tally to five points.
Among home players in the Qatar Masters Open B tournament, Erfan Mohamed Firdaus was victorious when he outplayed Pakistan’s Khan Muhammad, while Hamad Al Kuwari beat Filipino Lara Manuelito.
Layan Al Qassabi outsmarted India’s Kandipalli Govindaraju, while Abdulrahman Al Atas beat India’s Dulange Tejas. Ali Al Naimi beat his Qatari compatriot Asma Al Hammadi, while Mohammed Al Subaiey overcame Khalifa Al Malki.
