Biel Chess festival: Sarin, Pichot settle for a draw

BIEL,  (Switzerland), Jul 29: Young Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin played out a draw with Argentina’s Alan Pichot in the third round of the classical section of the Biel International Chess Festival here on Thursday.

Sarin’s 42-move draw against the Argentine player took him to 13 points after three rounds of classical and the rapid event in which he finished second.

In the first round, Sarin went down in a seven-hour marathon to top seed Kiril   Alekseenko of  (Russia) before drawing with veteran Boris Gelfand in the second.

Eight players are taking part in the Biel Grandmaster Triathlon which features a Blitz event on July 31 apart from the Rapid and Classical sections.

Meanwhile in the Master Tournament being held as part of the Biel Chess Festival, India’s Surya Shekhar Ganguly won his first three games to be in joint lead with Saleh A R Salem (UAE) with 3 points after three rounds. In the third round, Ganguly defeated Alessio Valsecchi (Italy). (PTI)