Though Aravindh Chithambaram is just 10 days away from turning 18, his display over the board on Monday once again proved that he possesses the patience of a monk and maturity of a veteran.
The third round of the Khadi India National chess championship here also produced two winners — Aravindh and Arghyadip Das. The winning duo joined M. R. Lalith Babu and S. L. Narayanan in the lead at two points. After the five drawn games, ‘rookie’ Sammed Shete was obviously pleased with the outcome he managed against top seed and defending champion M. Karthikeyan.
In Ruy Lopez, where R. R. Laxman built the Berlin ‘wall’ and stayed away for danger for the better part of the battle, Aravindh eventually managed a march by the kingside pawn, backed by queen and knight.
Laxman did well to stall the progress of his rival with queen and bishop. Suddenly, Laxman imploded. He made two poor moves in succession and resigned on the next to signal the end of the 95th move battle – the longest of the championship, so far.
In a game that featured the highest and the lowest rated players in the 14-man field, expectations of an upset rose high after Karthikeyan chose not to capture Sammed’s bishop and slipped to a piece-down position. However, much to the dismay of those watching, the players agreed to a draw.
When The Hindu pointed out the winning continuation, Sammed realised he had missed a big opportunity. A humble Karthikeyan also checked out the suggested line and readily agreed. “Yes. We both missed it,” said the two-time with a touch of relief.
The results: Third round: Aravindh Chithambaram (2) bt R. R. Laxman (1) in 95 moves; Deepan Chakkravarthy (1.5) lost to Arghyadip Das (2) in 35 moves; M. R. Lalith Babu (2) drew with Himanshu Sharma (0.5) in 57 moves; Sammed Shete (1.5) drew with M. Karthikeyan (1.5) in 28 moves; S. L. Narayanan (2) drew with Debashis Das (1.5) in 34 moves; Abhijit Kunte (1.5) drew with Swapnil Dhopade (1) in 56 moves; S. Nitin (1.5) drew with P. Shyaam Nikhil (1.5) in 38 moves.
Fourth-round pairings: Arghyadip-Narayanan; Debashis-Babu; Kunte-Aravindh; Karthikeyan-Deepan; Laxman-Shete; Dhopade-Shyaam; Himanshu-Nitin.