Upsets marked the beginning of the Rs 35 lakh prize money 360 One Masters Chess tournament in Mumbai. Second seed GM Sankalp Gupta fell to Sri Lankan IM L M S T De Silva in a quick game. Another surprise was third seed GM Abhijeet Gupta’s loss to 17-year-old IM Akshay Borgaonkar from Pune.
The higher-rated overseas Grandmasters struggled, with fifth seed GM Luka Paichadze of Georgia and 9th seed GM Boris Savchenko settling for draws. Top seed GM Iniyan Pa, however, displayed resilience and won against L Srihari in a challenging match.
In a French Advance Defence, Sankalp Gupta faced a fierce attack from De Silva, leading to a checkmate in 26 moves. Abhijeet Gupta, on the other hand, was on the defensive against Borgaonkar in a Reti game, eventually resigning on the 54th turn.
Thirteen-year-old Madhavendra Pratap Sharma shone by winning both his games in the junior and Challenger categories. The tournament saw some expected results, with higher seeds performing well and a few draws.
