Thakur takes Emirates IM in stride, Raunak draws, Sankalp wins

NAGPUR: City masters Akash Thakur, Raunak Sadhwani and Sankalp Gupta playing with the black pieces, made their presence felt in a big way on Day 6 of the first edition of Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship on Wednesday. The nine-round international invitational tournament for players above 1500 Elo points is being played at the Sharjah Chess and Culture Club.
While City's most experienced Fide Master (FM) Akash Thakur surprised International Master (IM) Sultan Ibrahim of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 11-year-old Raunak Sadhwani forced seasoned IM Shyaamnikhil P to sign the peace treaty and Sankalp Gupta registered a convincing victory over lower rated Sarvesh Kumar.Amravati's Pawan Dodeja, however, played safe and settled for a draw against lower rated Mohammed Salim Al Amri of Oman.
At the end of the sixth round, all the three city players are holding the fort with 3.5 points apiece while Dodeja is following them closely by garnering three points.
In the sixth round Thakur scripted the biggest upset of the day among city players. Up against the Kings Pawn opening move of Sultan Ibrahim, Thakur came up with some splendid moves to outwit his opponent utilizing the Kings Indian defence. Thakur's tactical mid-game play was enough to trap the seasoned IM from UAE. In the 7th round, the 35-year-old Thakur will face the challenge of higher ranked Indian IM Karthikeyan P.
On the 31st board, city prodigy Raunak had a measure of his rival Shyaamnikhil who is 222 elo points ahead of the 11-year-old Centre Point School, Katol Road student. After two heartbreak defeats, Raunak fought back and earned half point with a surprising draw against an experienced Indian IM. Playing with the white pieces Shyaamnikhil started with the Queens Pawn opening move while Raunak opted for the French defence to hold his higher rated master after the 36th move. On Thursday, Raunak will take on country mate IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh.
For the 14-year-old Sankalp Gupta the 58th board clash with Sarvesh Kumar turned out to be an easy affair. Sankalp grabbed full points to join Thakur and Raunak. He will now square up against senior Indian IM Praggnanandhaa in the 7th round.
Amravati's Dodeja, however, split the points with lower rated Mohammed Salim of Oman and is half-a-point behind the three city masters. On Thursday, Dodeja will look to gain full points against Azerbaijan's Asgarova Turan.