Sahaj Grover crushes Girish Kaushik - New Delhi (07 Sep 10): International Master and top seed Sahaj Grover of Delhi defeated Girish Kaushik of Karnataka to emerge as one of the leaders in the 36th edition of the National Sub Junior chess championship now underway here. Antonio Viani D’cunha of Karnataka joined Sahaj at top of point table after defeating Karthikeyan Murali in a tense sixth round battle.

Playing white Grover faced an opening surprise when Kaushik employed the Nimzowitch opening that does not find many takers in high level chess these days. Grover was under pressure to begin with as Kaushik had a half point lead against the local favourite and it was a tentative start.

However, as the game progressed Grover got in to the thick of things and launched a timely king side onslaught that proved hard to handle for young Kaushik. The Delhi based then uncorked a series of tactical strokes to unleash a fantastic checkmate attack. The finale was picturesque as Sahaj was down a rook and knight when the checkmate was delivered on the board.

Meanwhile in the girls section third seed Nandhidhaa PV taken sole lead with perfect score of six as she outwitted her Rajasthan rival Sonakashi Rathore in the sixth round encounter. Top seed J Saranya got another set back to her title dreams as she lost her sixth round match against Pratyusha Bodda of Andhrapradesh.

More information on the Delhi Chess Association website