Sasikran placed joint 3rd after two successive draws at Mtel

Sofia, May 12 (UNI) Indian Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran drew his second successive game, this time against world junior champion Sakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, to be placed joint third after two rounds at the Mtel Masters here.

India's second best chess player after Vishnathan Anand, Sasikiran played a solid game from the start. Though he remained under constant pressure he did not loose his cool and played his normal game. He however could not make best use of his Queen in the middle game as his pieces were clumsily placed.

However, in the end game he managed to win a pawn but it was insufficient to bring any advantage.

With no decisive result in sight the game was ultimately declared as drawn.

Speaking to UNI immediately after the game Sasikiran said, ''It was particularly not a good opening. It looks like my pieces were placed somewhat clumsily in the middle game. My King has 3 pawns for protection and my opponent has 2 pawns , only thing was whether I should keep my Queen. I think that exchange of Queens was a bad decision. In the end game I managed to win a pawn but it was nothing special.'' Meanwhile, the other two games of the day between Romanian Grandmaster Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu and Gata Kamsky of USA, followed by the game between crowd favourite Veselin Topalov and Michael Adams also ended in no result.

Standing after Round Two: 1. Sakhriyar Mamedyarov and Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu (1.5 point) 3. Krishnan Sasikiran and Michael Adams (1 point) 4. Veselin Topalov and Gata Kamsky (0.5 point) Round Three Pairing: Michael Adams vs Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu Sakhriyar Mamedyarov vs Veselin Topalov Gata Kamsky vs Krishnan Sasikiran UNI