OVERNIGHT joint leaders Ved Faur and Shivam Sabat continued to rule the roost in the Prof Dr Shirish L Deshpande Memorial AICFB Maharashtra State Selection Chess Championship for the blind and visually impaired in progress at the Gyan Jyoti Niwasi Andha Vidyalaya in Nagalwadi, on Saturday. Both, Chandrapur’s Ved and Thane’s Shivam, who won all their five matches on Friday, drew a game each to still share the honours with 7.5 points from eight games.

 

In the 8th round, Ved, playing with black pieces got the better of Rohit Jadhav (6) from Palghar on the top board. Shivam, also playing with the darker pieces, defeated Ahilyanagar’s Somnath Jadhav (6) on the second board.

 

The ninth and final round of the competition will start on Sunday at 8.30 am. Immediately after that, at 11.30 am, the results will be declared and the prize distribution ceremony will be held. The competition is jointly organised by All India Blind Chess Federation (AICFB), All Marathi Blind Chess Association (AMCVC), National Blind Education and Rehabilitation Institute and Divyang Support Research and Education Foundation.