The 10th Round of the National Challengers Chess Championship saw the lead change hands as IM Swapnil Dhopade scored a crucial victory over overnight leader GM Karthikeyan to move in to the sole lead with 8 points.
In the Karthikeyan-Swapnil encounter, the latter wheeled out the Caro-Kann Defence in reply to Karthikeyan’s 1.e4. However, Karthikeyan’s handling of the opening left much to be desired which allowed Swapnil to secure a better position right out of the opening, despite playing the black pieces. Although the game went on for a total of 60 moves, Swapnil was always in control of the matters and in the end, registered a clean victory over his higher-rated opponent.
Meanwhile, as many as 13 players are trailing Swapnil with a margin of just half a point. With 3 more rounds to go, a huge number of players are still in with a chance of clinching the title.
Round 10 Results: Here