Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Palaash Mapara (5 points) continued his dominant run, scoring his fifth consecutive victory to emerge as the sole leader after Round 5 of the All India Chess Masters (Season 3), being played at the Mumbai Chess Centre, in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Playing with the black pieces on the top board, Palaash displayed sharp tactical understanding to outplay Punit Dodiya (4 points).

A strong chasing pack of five players—Shriram Mhasane, Pratik Yadnik, Yashraj Rathi, AGM Rajveer Nahar, and Shreyansh Somaiya—are close behind in joint second place with 4.5 points each.

On the second board, Yashraj Rathi and Pratik Yadnik settled for a draw, sharing the point.

Meanwhile, Shreyansh Somaiya and AGM Rajveer Nahar impressed with fluent victories while playing with the black pieces. Shreyansh defeated Ahaan Kataruka (3.5 points) on the third board, while Rajveer got the better of Shrirang Agharkar (3.5 points).

Shriram Mhasane also delivered a strong performance, defeating Anay Banka (3.5 points) on the sixth board.

Earlier on Tuesday, putting up a solid, calculated performance, Palaash Mapara (4 points), playing with white pieces, cleverly defeated Dhruv Muthe (3 points) on the third board at the end of the fourth round of the All India Chess Masters (Season 3), played at the Mumbai Chess Centre, Pedder Road on Tuesday.

Pratik Yadnik (4 points), also playing with the white pieces, scored his fourth successive win, defeating Aditya Siddharth (3 points) on the fourth board.

Amey Dandekar (4 points) was another successful winner, registering his fourth win as he overcame Viraj Rathi (3 points) on the seventh board.

Results – Round 5 (Top 10):

Punit Dodiya (4) lost to Palaash Mapara (5) — 0-1

Yashraj Rathi (4.5) drew with Pratik Yadnik (4.5) — 0.5-0.5

Ahaan Kataruka (3.5) lost to Shreyansh Somaiya (4.5) — 0-1

AFM Sohum Pawar (4) drew with AIM Akashkumar Yadav (4) — 0.5-0.5

Shrirang Agharkar (3.5) lost to AGM Rajveer Nahar (4.5) — 0-1

Shriram Mhasane (4.5) beat Anay Banka (3.5) — 1-0

Pankaj Borse (4) drew with Anand Iyer (4) — 0.5-0.5

Prisha Margaj (4) beat AFM Omkar Gaikwad (3.5) — 1-0

Tanuj Dayal (4) beat Neev Bafna (3) — 1-0

Pragnay Singh (3) lost to Arjun Singh (3) — 0-1

–IANS

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