<p>Sameer (8 points) outclassed Deepthamsh Reddy M of Andhra Pradesh to garner eight points to take half-a-point lead over the nearest rivals. <br /><br />Sameer employed Sicilian Allapen and the game ended in just 22 moves. Final round matches to be played on Thursday.<br /><br />Rathod Gopal Ashok of Maharashtra and Lakshmi Sandeep Naidu V of AP share the second spot with 7.5 points each.<br /><br />Rathod registered a facile win over Abhilash Reddy M L of Andhra Pradesh while Lakshmi defeated Linda Rangarajan of Puducherry in their respective penultimate round ties.<br /><br />Karnataka’s Vishal Rao, who beat Harihara Sudan M of Tamil Nadu, and Vijendra Y G, a comfortable winner over Ramakrishna P of AP, lie in joint third spot with seven points. <br /><br />Important results (round IX): Sameer Kathmale (Mah, 8) bt Deepthamsh Reddy M (AP, 6.5); Rathod Gopal Ashok (Mah, 7.5) bt Abhilash Reddy M L (AP, 6.5); Lakshmi Sandeep Naidu V (AP, 7.5) bt Linda Rangarajan (Pud, 6); Chauhan Joy (Guj, 6.5) drew with Nath Rupankar (WB, 6.5); Harihara Sudan M (TN, 6) lt to Vishal Rao (Kar, 7); Ramakrishna Perumalla (AP, 6) lt to Vijendra Y G (Kar, 7); Akash P Iyer (TN, 6.5) drew with Kishan Gangolli (Kar, 6.5); Santoshkashyap H (Kar, 6) drew with Mukund G Bhatt (Guj, 6.5); Sushrutha Reddy (Kar, 5.5) lt to Shivkumar L V (AP, 6.5); Darshan V P S (Kar, 6.5) bt Balasubramanian Rajaram (TN, 5.5); Bhagwat S M (Kar, 5.5) lt to Augustin A (Kar, 6.5); Sadashiva V (Kar, 5.5) lt to Gopal Shah (Guj, 6.5); Bani Kanta Nath (WB, 5) lt to Vasantha Ruba Varman (TN, 6); Sahajasri Cholleti (AP, 6) bt Jayesh M (TN, 5); Sameer Ghotane (Kar, 5) bt Raghunandan K S (Kar, 6); Benadikar Shashank D (Kar, 5.5) drew with Akshay V Halagannavar (Kar, 5.5); Prabhat Koutha (AP, 5.5) drew with Aravinda B R (Kar, 5.5).</p>
<p>Sameer (8 points) outclassed Deepthamsh Reddy M of Andhra Pradesh to garner eight points to take half-a-point lead over the nearest rivals. <br /><br />Sameer employed Sicilian Allapen and the game ended in just 22 moves. Final round matches to be played on Thursday.<br /><br />Rathod Gopal Ashok of Maharashtra and Lakshmi Sandeep Naidu V of AP share the second spot with 7.5 points each.<br /><br />Rathod registered a facile win over Abhilash Reddy M L of Andhra Pradesh while Lakshmi defeated Linda Rangarajan of Puducherry in their respective penultimate round ties.<br /><br />Karnataka’s Vishal Rao, who beat Harihara Sudan M of Tamil Nadu, and Vijendra Y G, a comfortable winner over Ramakrishna P of AP, lie in joint third spot with seven points. <br /><br />Important results (round IX): Sameer Kathmale (Mah, 8) bt Deepthamsh Reddy M (AP, 6.5); Rathod Gopal Ashok (Mah, 7.5) bt Abhilash Reddy M L (AP, 6.5); Lakshmi Sandeep Naidu V (AP, 7.5) bt Linda Rangarajan (Pud, 6); Chauhan Joy (Guj, 6.5) drew with Nath Rupankar (WB, 6.5); Harihara Sudan M (TN, 6) lt to Vishal Rao (Kar, 7); Ramakrishna Perumalla (AP, 6) lt to Vijendra Y G (Kar, 7); Akash P Iyer (TN, 6.5) drew with Kishan Gangolli (Kar, 6.5); Santoshkashyap H (Kar, 6) drew with Mukund G Bhatt (Guj, 6.5); Sushrutha Reddy (Kar, 5.5) lt to Shivkumar L V (AP, 6.5); Darshan V P S (Kar, 6.5) bt Balasubramanian Rajaram (TN, 5.5); Bhagwat S M (Kar, 5.5) lt to Augustin A (Kar, 6.5); Sadashiva V (Kar, 5.5) lt to Gopal Shah (Guj, 6.5); Bani Kanta Nath (WB, 5) lt to Vasantha Ruba Varman (TN, 6); Sahajasri Cholleti (AP, 6) bt Jayesh M (TN, 5); Sameer Ghotane (Kar, 5) bt Raghunandan K S (Kar, 6); Benadikar Shashank D (Kar, 5.5) drew with Akshay V Halagannavar (Kar, 5.5); Prabhat Koutha (AP, 5.5) drew with Aravinda B R (Kar, 5.5).</p>
