Neelotpal das

Mumbai International Grandmaster Chess Tournament: Indian Grandmasters Lalit Babu and Neelotpal Das scored impressive victories in the eighth round to jump into a joint three-player lead, along with GM Gharibyan Mamikon, in the Mumbai International Grandmaster Chess Tournament at the World Trade Centre, here on Tuesday.

While Lalit Babu defeated GM Alexei Fedorov with white pieces in 39 moves, Neelotpal got the better of IM Arsen Davtyan. Gharibyan Mamikon delivered a major upset, defeating tournament leader GM Aleksej Aleksandrov with the black pieces to stake his claim among the leaders, with 7 points from 8 matches.

Nine players — including GM Aleksandrov, GM Levan Pantsulaia, GM Manuel Petrosyan, GM Deepan Chakkravarthy, and GM Nguyen Duc Hoa — are right behind with 6.5/8.