It's between Chanda and Ganguly again

VISAKHAPATNAM: The 42nd National A chess championship seems to be going the way of its predecessor. Just like last year''s edition, Petroleum Sports Control Board''s (PSPB) Grandmaster duo Surya Sekhar Ganguly and Sandipan Chanda are again fighting it out for the title going into the final round. Last year Ganguly had upstaged Chanda on better tiebreak.
The two played out contrasting draws in the 18th and penultimate round against strong opponents at the Waltair Club here on Friday to continue to lead the table with 11.5 points from 17 games.While Chanda fought hard and tried to force out a win against GM Koneru Humpy, Ganguly didn''t take much chances and signed out peace treaty with IM Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury, sensing that his rival for the top spot couldn''t eke out more than a draw on the second board. Sundararajan Kidambi scored the lone win of this round against former champion P Konguvel and advanced to 11 points, taking sole possession of the third place. However, the maximum he can hope for is a place in the 4-member Indian team as he has a bye in the final round and can''t add to his tally. His place in the next Nationals, however, seems sure as he is expected to finish amomg the top eight, whatever may be the results on the other boards.
Results (round 18): Koneru Humpy (AP - 9.5) drew with Sandipan Chanda (ONGC - 11.5); Abhijit Kunte (PSPB - 10.5) drew with Neelotpal Das (WB 9.5); Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury (WB 9) drew with Surya Sekhar Ganguly (PSPB 11.5); Prathmesh Mokal (BSB 6) drew with Rahul Shetty (IA 4); D Harika (AP 6.5) drew with Abhijit Gupta (Raj 6.5); Roktim Bandopadhyay (WB 9) drew with Suvrajit Saha (WB 7.5); Deepan Chakravarthy (TN 7.5) drew with Tejas Bakre (IA 9.5); Dibyendu Barua (WB 8) drew with Sriram Jha (LIC 7.5); P Konguvel (PSPB 7.5) lost to Sundararajan Kidambi (PSPB 11); MR Venkatesh (PSPB 10) bye.