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Bhubaneswar, May 30: IM Swayams Mishra maintained his joint third position in the Elite category by holding higher-rated and last edition’s champion GM Merab Gagunashvili to a draw, while GM Debashis Das slumped to fifth position when he lost against P Nikhil Shyam in the ongoing KIIT International Chess festival here Saturday.
In a tough contest, Swayams tried his best to put pressure on his opponent. He carried out some deft maneuvers to force his opponent play defensively. But Gaganashvili, who is much more experienced than Swayams, defended stoutly to achieve a draw.
Debashis, however, was not in his elements. He lost tamely and remained stuck on five points.
The only win for Orissa on the day came when Ashirwad Swain beat V Varshini. In other matches Rakesh Jena, Utkal Ranjan Sahoo, Rakesh Nayak and Kiran Manisha Mohanty settled for draws while Sidhant Mohapatra, Rajesh Nayak were defeated by their respective opponents.
GM Sandipan Chanda and IM Himanshu Sharma are the joint leaders in the Elite category with seven points apiece after the completion of nine rounds
In the Premium category, Manish Kumar of Orissa is in joint third position with seven points.
