NEW DELHI: Making a strong comeback after an unexpected loss, third-seeded Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi secured victories in the third and fourth rounds of the men’s individual chess event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Monday.
In the third round, the 28-year-old Vidit triumphed over Thailand’s Prin Laohawirapap. He followed up the victory with another win in the fourth round against Le Tuan Minh of Vietnam, bringing his total points to three.
Vidit currently holds the sixth position in the standings.
Along with compatriot Arjun Erigaisi, the fourth-seed, Gujrathi is on three points, half a point behind leaders — Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan and top-seed Wei Yi of China after four rounds.
The 20-year old Erigaisi beat Vietnam’s Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son in round three before settling for a draw with Iran GM Tabatabeai Seyedmohammadami.
In the women’s event, India’s top players Koneru Humpy and D Harika slipped after starting with wins in the first two rounds. They were able to score only half point from the two rounds on Monday.
China’s top-seed Hou Yifan proved to be a hard nut to crack for the Indians as she beat Harika in round three and Humpy in the next.
Humpy drew her game against Chinese player Zhu Jiner in round three before suffering a loss in the next match.
After a loss to Yifan in the third round, Harika drew with Nilufar Yakubbaeva of Uzbekistan.
The two Indians have 2.5 points each after four rounds along with five other players.
Yifan is a point clear of the field with four points followed by Jiner.
(With inputs from PTI)<\/span><\/div>\n