Fourth seeded Arnav Kherdekar (ELO 1722) and 10th seed Aaysuh Shirodkar (1533) broke away from the rest of the field by registering five consecutive wins in as many rounds of the SBI Life All India FIDE Rating Chess Tournament, here on Monday.
Playing on board 2, Arnav defeated Shanmukha Pulli (ELO 1545) from the black side while Aayush defeated 6th seeded Guru Prakash (ELO 1691), and have now emerged favorites to win the title.
Meanwhile, on the top board, seventh seeded Yohan Boricha (1639) created a minor flutter by holding second seeded Sauravh Khherdekar (ELO 2090) to a draw. Both these players now are in joint second place with a score of 4.5, where they were joined by top seeded International Master Vikramaditya Kulkarni (ELO 2251) and youngster, Ishan Tendolkar (1238).
A group of 12 players are occupying the third spot with a score of 4/5, which includes nine-year-old Nirvaan Shah (ELO 1197), who scalped 5th seeded Sanjeev Mishra (ELO 1696).
Four more rounds are still to be played in this Rs 3 Lakh prize money tourney, which is being played as per FIDE Swiss League system.