Laxman outwits GM Vitaly

Joining Laxman (4 points) on top of the table were GMs Gareyev Timur (US), Adam Tukhaev (Ukraine) and FIDE Master Karthik Venkataraman (India).

In a well contested Pirc game Laxman showed aggression, when the situated so demanded, coming up with success in 58 moves. Speaking about the game, Laxman said, "My position was getting passive and I counter-attacked to stay on course. My aggression on kingside, caught him off-guard and I managed to come up better in complications". Six more rounds remain in this 267 player Swiss tournament that concludes on January 25.

Topboard results (Round 4) (Indians unless specified) : Gareyev Timur (USA) 4 bt Sangma Rahul (3), Tiviakov Sergei (Ned) 3.5 drew with Saravana Krishnan P (3.5), Tukhaev Adam (Ukr) 4 bt Muthiah AL (3), Laxman R R (4) bt Sivuk Vitaly (Ukr) 3, Karthik Venkataraman (4) bt Gajwa Ankit (3), Rozum Ivan (Rus) 3.5 bt Dixit Nikhil (3), Solodovnichenko Yuri (Ukr) 3.5 bt Harikrishnan A Ra (2.5), Pruijssers Roeland (Ned) 3.5 bt Mithil Ajgaonkar (2.5), Shetty Rahul (3) drew with Czebe Attila (Hun) 3, Kushagra Mohan (3) drew with Nitin S (3).

Results (Round 3) (Indians unless specified) : Vignesh B (2) lost to Gareyev Timur (USA) 3, Pranav V (2) lost to Tiviakov Sergei (Ned) 3, Praveen Kumar C (2) lost to Tukhaev Adam (Ukr) 3, Sivuk Vitaly (Ukr) 3 bt Maheswaran P (2), Tran Tuan Minh (Vie) 3 bt Ajay Karthikeyan (2), Harikrishnan A Ra (2.5) drew with Pruijssers Roeland (Ned) 2.5, Horvath Adam (Hun) 3 bt Masango Spencer (Zim) 2, Murali Krishnan B T (2) lost to Karthik Venkataraman (3), Deepan Chakkravarthy J (3) bt Bhambure Shantanu (2), Mithil Ajgaonkar (2.5) drew with Khusenkhojaev Muhammad (Tjk) 2.5, Czebe Attila (Hun) 2.5 drew with Phoobalan P (2.5), Divya Deshmukh (2.5) bt Nguyen Duc Hoa (Vie) 1.5, Divya Lakshmi R (1.5) lost to Erigaisi Arjun (2.5).