IM ANWESH Upadhyay defeated Pranay Akula on top board in third round of the GH Raisoni Chess Classical FIDE Rating Chess Tournament in progress at GH Raisoni Institute of Engineering, Wadi Hingna Road, on Sunday.

Upadhyay, playing black, employed Caro Cann defence to score a win against Akula in 47 moves. On the second board, Indrajeet Mahindrakar resorted to Sicilian Smith Morra Gambit to make short work of veteran player YM Shamkuwar of Nagpur in just 18 moves.

The second round witnessed a minor upset when third seed Satish Thakur of Jalna was held to a draw by veteran player TV Subramanium of Tamil Nadu. In all 15 players were leading the table at the end of third round with three points each.

The event is being organised by GH Raisoni Sports and Cultural Foundation jointly with Kalpana Prakash Welfare Foundation and recognised by the Chess Association Nagpur, Maharashtra Chess Association, All India Chess Federation and FIDE.