360 One Wealth Grand Prix Chess: Arnav Thatte Emerges Sole Leader

Amidst a series of draws on the top 4 boards, 12-year-old Ashish Thatte got the better of 3rd-seeded Atharv Soni to claim slow lead with 4 points, after the completion of four rounds in the 360 One Wealth Grand Prix Chess series, organised by Indian Chess School, at the Russian Centre for Science & Culture.

Arnav selected the exchange variation against Atharv's Caro-Kann defense. The match seemed evenly poised, suggesting a probable draw. Nevertheless, a pivotal mistake by Arnav resulted in him finding himself in a losing position. In an unusual turn of events marked by mutual errors, Atharv, too, made a blunder, ultimately leading to his defeat in the game.

The leading players, Guru Prakash and Darsh Shetty, faced formidable challenges and had to settle for draws against their opponents, Kush Agarwal and Arjun Singh, respectively. As a result, these four players now find themselves in a shared second position. Joining them in this spot are Tanmay More, Ishan Tendolkar & Prathamesh Gawade.

Results of round 4

Kush Agarwal (3½) drew Guru Prakash (3½)

Darsh Shetty (3½) drew Arjun Singh (3½)

Arnav Thatte (4) beat Soni Atharv (3)

Mukul Rane 3½ drew Ishaan Tendolkar (3½)

Prathamesh Gawade (3½) beat Agraval Shravana (2½)

Kshaunish Jaiswal (3½) beat Palaash Mapara (2½)

Pasbola Samvid (2½) lost to Tanmay More (3½)

Maitreyi Bera (2) lost to Shah Purvaan (3)

Yamini Sriram (3) beat Kadam Ganesh (2)

Prabhakar Aariv (3) beat Tandon Yash (2)