Maletin thus took the sole lead with eight points while Negi along with Russian Dmitry Bocharov, who beat Uzbek Grandmaster Saidali Iuldachev, are trailing the leader by half a point in the Rs eight lakh prize money championship.
Playing with white pieces in Slav Defence, Maletin produced great attacking moves towards the end to inflict a 43-move defeat on the Indian rival. The young Negi’s prepared line in Slav Defence went haywire on the 24th move, a point from where the Russian kept getting stronger.
Mumbai youngster Prasanna Rao held Asian Chess Championship bronze medalist Grandmaster Abhijit Gupta to a creditable draw.
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