National chess championship: Surya Shekhar Ganguly is running a strong campaign for seventh title

Surya Shekhar Ganguly dominates 61st National Chess Championship with flawless performance, eyeing seventh title after 16 years.

The last of his six titles at India’s premier domestic chess tournament came 16 years ago. Surya Shekhar Ganguly is running a strong – and so far flawless – campaign for the seventh.

The top seed moved into the sole lead after the sixth round of the 61st National chess championship at the RPS International School on Thursday (August 22, 2024). He defeated Neelash Saha to take his tally to full six points.

Continuing the Bengali theme, Aronyak Ghosh and Sayantan Das are sharing the second position with 5.5 points each. Five rounds remain.

Aronyak held defending champion S.P. Sethuraman to a draw in 31 moves of a King’s Indian Defence game, which had an opposite-coloured bishop ending on the second board.

On the top board against Ganguly, Neelash paid the price for making far too many weak moves in succession with his queen and rook in their Queen’s Gambit Declined game. Ganguly is too good a player to miss such an opportunity and had his opponent in a mating net. Black resigned on the 38th move.

Surya Shekhar Ganguly (PSPB) 6 bt Neelash Saha (RSPB) 5; Aronyak Ghosh (RSPB) 5.5 drew with S.P. Sethuraman (PSPB) 5.5; Karthik Venkataraman (AP) 5 drew with Diptayan Ghosh (RSPB) 5; G. Aakash (TN) 4.5 lost to Sayantan Das (RSPB) 5.5; Arjun Adireddy (TS) 4.5 drew with P. Iniyan (TN) 4.5; Sankalp Gupta (Mah) 4.5 drew with Utkal Sahoo (Odi) 4.5; B. Vignesh (TN) 4.5 drew with Mitrabha Guha (RSPB) 4.5; Vignesh Adwaith Vemula (TS) 4.5 drew with N.R. Vignesh 4.5; N.R. Visakh (RSPB) 4.5 drew with A. Balkishan (Kar) 4.5; Raihaan Zahid (TS) 4 lost to Deep Sengupta (PSPB) 5; Himal Gusain (RSPB) 5 bt Nihal Swarna (AP) 4; N.R. Jaidambareesh (TN) 4 lost to M.R. Lalith Babu (AP) 5; C.R.G. Krishna (RSPB) 5  bt Gyana Sai Santhosh (AP) 4; Swapnil Dhopade (Mah) 5 bt Prathamesh Sherla (Mah) 4; Puneet Verma (Pun) 4.5 drew with J. Deepan Chakravarthy (RSPB) 4.5.