New Delhi (India): Indian Grandmaster Leon Luke Mendonca defeated Mongolian Grandmaster Batchuluun Tsegmed to emerge as the sole leader on perfect score after the end of the third round of the Asian Continental Chess Championship here.
On what turned out to be a tough day for the Mongolian, Mendonca capitalized on most of the opportunities offered by his rival and took the point home.
In other important encounters, two-time Indian national champion Karthikeyan Murali missed the opportunity to garner full point and satisfied with half point against Koustav Chatterjee on top board while top seed Praggnanandhaa and second seed Narayanan S L got better off Pranesh M and Urazayev Arystanbek of Kazakhstan respectively.
In the women’s section, continuing her impressive show Kazakh girl Liya Kurmangaliyeva held International Master Soumya Swaminathan to a creditable draw while Woman International Master Saina Salonika shocked second seed Nomin Erdene Davaademberel of Mongolia.
It’s second defeat for the second seeded Mongolian in three matches as she suffered a setback in the opening round against Kurmangaliyeva.
Ten players including top seed Tanaia Sachdev, who defeated Kiran Manisha Mohanty are now sharing the lead with two half points.
