Pantsulaia ends Balkishan’s dream run in KCA’s 1st GM International in Kottayam

A Balkishan's dream run in the 1st KCA GM International at Kottayam was halted by event leader GM Levan Pantsulaia in round eight. Karnataka native Balkishan had been unbeaten until Monday, having scored positive results against higher-ranked opponents, including two GMs and an IM.

Georgian GM Pantsulaia has 7.5 points from a possible 8, while Kyrgyzstan's IM Semetei Tologon Tegin has jumped to second (7) having produced a run of seven wins in a row after a shock defeat to Karnataka's Yeshas H in round one. Pantsulaia and Semetei will play each other on the top board in the penultimate round on Tuesday.

Top seed GM Karen Grigoryan, who lost to Semetei in round 8, defeated Spanish FM Daniel Sanz Wawer to stay in the hunt for the title on 6.5 points. He will play black against Indian GM Deepan Chakkravarthy in round nine.

IM Rajesh V A V, the other Indian on 6.5 points, defeated Vietnamese GM Van Huy Nguyen to set up a third board clash with GM Tornike Sanikidze. Kozhikode's Ahaz E U has had the best run among Kerala players. With victory over Swahyam P Das, the 15-year-old increased his tally to 6 points and has set up a clash with veteran GM R R Laxman.

The event, which features 16 GMS, is held at Kanjikuzhy in Kottayam district. It is arguably the strongest FIDE-rated open tournament held in Kerala.