SPORTS REPORTER
GUWAHATI: After the completion of 4 rounds a group of 13 players is on top spot jointly with 4 points each in the 3rd Guwahati India Open International Rating Chess Tournament here today. The 13 players who are now leading jointly are: GMVasquez Schroeder Rodrigo of Chile, Fide Master Habla Jony of Philipinnes, Koustav Chatterjee of Westbengal, Candidate Master Shahil Day of Assam, International Master Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad of Andhra Pradesh, Vipul Subhashi of Bihar, Apollosana Mangang Rajkumar of Manipur, Grand Master Sriram Jha of Delhi (LIC), Fide Master Kulpruethanon Thanadon of Thailand, Prakash Ram of Punjab, Babe Tom of Belgium, International Master Ramanathan Balasubramanium of Tamilnadu and Gias Uddin Ahmed of Bangladesh. Local boy Ashvin Sharma of Guwahati Assam put up a spirited effort and managed to hold Fide Master Manish Hamal of Nepal in a keenly contested match today. Ashvin had also defeated Rohit Gurung of Sikkim in their round 3 encounters. He is up against multiple Assam Champion Laisram Imocha of Oil India Limited in round 5.
Meanwhile, another young girl Diya Choudhury of West Bengal managed to hold International Master Siddhant Mohapatra to a draw in their Round 3 matches. Another International Master Sayan Das of West Bengal was forced to split points in round 4 by SK Rathore of Madhya Pradesh.