Today's Edition
DUBAI (ALETIHAD)
Grandmaster (GM) Mahammad Muradli remains on track to become only the third player to defend his title after a hard-fought win on Thursday night, securing a two-way tie for the lead with Russia’s GM Aleksey Grebnev after the third round of the 25th Dubai Open Chess Tournament at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club.
Muradli defeated Austria’s International Master (IM) Dotzer Lukas with white pieces in a Reti Opening that quickly spiralled into a complex middle game. Grebnev won over Fide Master (FM) Vedant Panesar in a Larsen Attack opening where the 18-year-old Russian blasted the Indian’s king-side defence with his major pieces.
The matches between the four other second-round leaders ended in draws. Top-seed GM Nihal Sarin of India could only manage half a point against compatriot IM Rohith Krishna in a balanced game. GM Yair Parkhov of Israel also halved the point with IM Nitish Belurkar of India. The four players dropped half a point behind Muradli and Grebnev with 2.5 points each.
Grebnev said he used an attacking idea employed successfully by Dutchman and last week’s winner at Sharjah Masters Anish Giri in a game from last year, at the Tata Steel Masters. “My opponent was not prepared for this line and he made a few mistakes and missed some tactics,” Grebnev said.
Muradli was made to work hard by Lukas, who signalled his aggressive intentions early by offering a pawn sacrifice on the third move, which the defending champion declined. The Austrian launched a menacing king-side assault, prompting Muradli to secure his king on the queen side, but Lukas was running short on time – a factor that played a major role in his eventual loss.
Muradli and Grebnev will play on the first board in Friday’s fourth round to dispute the solo leadership.
In Category B, five players led by Iran’s Mahdi Nikookar, the highest-rated player among the leaders, are at the top of the standings with three points each. Nikookar defeated India’s Shashish Subbiah for his third straight point. Also with three points are Mukund Agarwal of India, FM Syed Rahman of Bangladesh, Zhang Zhi of China, and Candidate Master (CM) Alankar Vandan of India.
