Atul Dahale grabbed the solitary lead at the 2 nd PNG International Rating Chess Championship yesterday, overcoming fellow contender Shailesh Jaiswar in their 6th Round match played at the Deccan Gymkhana. Both players started the day tied for the lead, but it was Dahale who displayed better skill and equanimity to register a victory in 52 moves and become the only player on 6 points.
Nikhil Ranade, another contender for the top spot, suffered a setback when he was defeated by Sohan Phadke.
Phadke drew his challenger in and quickly pushed forward to finish the game and move to a score of 5 points. International Master Akshayraj Kore, who has been having a rather average tournament so far, split his third consecutive point, finishing with a draw against Aniruddha Deshpande.
Deshpande played a safe game right from the outset and Kore was forced to admit the draw after 42 moves.
