Delhi GM Open: Gupta beats Nikitenko to take sole lead
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Indian GM Abhijeet Gupta surged into sole lead at the Delhi GM Open after a clinical Round 9 victory over Belarusian Mihail Nikitenko here on Friday.
With this win, Gupta now sits atop the leaderboard with 8 points from 9 rounds, positioning himself as the frontrunner for the championship ahead of the final round.
Gupta, playing with white, outmaneuvered co-leader Nikitenko in a sharp encounter and the result also pushed the Belarusian into the chasing pack with 7 points.
Among the other key matchups, Armenian GM Mamikon Gharibyan and Indian GM SL Narayanan played out a draw, taking both to 7 points each.
Vietnamese GM Nguyen Van Huy held India's GM Diptayan Ghosh to a draw, with both the players moving to 7 points.
Swedish GM Vitaly Sivuk drew with IM Nitin S to remain in the tightly packed 7-point group.
Meanwhile, GM Aditya S Samant scored a crucial win over Belarusian GM Aleksej Aleksandrov, moving to 7.5 points.
Joining him in second place is IM Aronyak Ghosh, who defeated IM Sharnarthi Viresh to climb to 7.5 points.
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