Sasi suffers setback

Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran’s chances of a podium finish suffered a setback as he went down to Mateusz Bartel of Poland in the sixth round of the premier ‘A’ group of Aeroflot International Open chess tournament here.

After raising hopes of a strong finish, it turned out to be a bad day in office for the second highest rated Indian after Viswanathan Anand as nothing worked right for him.

Wild complexities ensued in the middle game where Sasikiran enjoyed some optical advantage but in the end Bartel turned out to be more composed. It turned out to be a forgettable day for the Indians in the premier ‘A’ group as everyone in contention lost.

Abhijeet Gupta was outplayed by Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine, Parimarjan Negi went down against young Russian Vladimir Fedoseev, while Vidit Gujrathi could not match a wily Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova.

After losing to Sasikiran in the previous round, Sandipan Chanda made some recovery winning against Croat Alojzije Jankovic with black pieces.