Mumbai, June 11: Upsets dominated the opening round of the Rs 35 lakh prize money 360 One Masters Chess Tournament at the World Trade Centre, with several higher-ranked players falling to inspired performances from rising talents.
The biggest shock came when 17-year-old International Master Akshay Borgaonkar from Pune defeated third seed Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta, a former World Junior Champion. Borgaonkar seized control early in a Reti Opening and converted his advantage into a memorable victory after 54 moves.
Another major upset saw Sri Lankan IM L.M.S.T. De Silva overcome second seed GM Sankalp Gupta in just 26 moves. De Silva launched a powerful attack, breaking through Gupta’s defenses to force a decisive result.
Top seed and reigning National Champion GM Iniyan Pa avoided an upset but was made to work hard for his win against L. Srihari. In a seemingly drawn rook endgame, Iniyan patiently applied pressure before capitalizing on a late mistake to secure victory on the 74th move.
Several overseas Grandmasters were also held to draws. Fifth seed GM Luka Paichadze shared the point with FM Adak Bivor, while GM Boris Savchenko was held by Daeevik Wadhawan. FM Vivaan Shah drew with GM Aleksandrov Aleksej, and FM Kush Bhagat earned a notable draw against IM Nitin Belurkar.
Meanwhile, 13-year-old Madhavendra Pratap Sharma enjoyed a successful start by winning both his games in the Junior and Challenger categories, underlining his status as one of the tournament’s brightest young prospects. :::
