Sameer (8 points) outclassed Deepthamsh Reddy M of Andhra Pradesh to garner eight points to take half-a-point lead over the nearest rivals.

Sameer employed Sicilian Allapen and the game ended in just 22 moves. Final round matches to be played on Thursday.

Rathod Gopal Ashok of Maharashtra and Lakshmi Sandeep Naidu V of AP share the second spot with 7.5 points each.

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.

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.

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).