In round 7 of the Chola Chess International GM Norm Round Robin Tournament, Ethan Vaz and Ameya Audi secured crucial wins to share the lead with 4.5 out of 7 points. Vaz defeated the previous leader, Alisher Suleymenov, while Audi beat Girel Joseph. These results position both players favorably for potential Grandmaster norms in the final rounds.
The Chola Chess International GM Norm Round Robin Tournament reached a critical stage after round 7, played on February 9. Ethan Vaz, playing white, overcame Kazakh Grandmaster Alisher Suleymenov, who entered the round with a full-point lead from his 4.5/6 score after round 6. Vaz capitalized on a mistake in the position after 21.f3 Re5, responding with 22.Rh1 to seize the initiative on the h-file and win after eight more moves.
Ameya Audi also notched a victory against Girel Joseph. In a balanced endgame, Audi delivered a check with his knight to e3; Joseph responded with 82.Kc5, overlooking 83.g4, which allowed Audi's passed pawns to decide the game. This propelled Audi into the joint lead.
Other results included Boyer Mahel's win over Harsh Suresh, while Aronyak Ghosh drew with Mayank Chakraborty, and Akshay Borgaonkar shared points with Delgado Ramirez Neuris. Prior to this round, Suleymenov had dominated with three wins and three draws, including a marathon 168-move victory over Mahel in round 6.
For GM norms, Vaz needs 2/2 points from the last two rounds to reach 6.5/9, while Audi requires 1.5/2 for 6/9. Only these two players remain in contention. Round 8 is scheduled for February 10 at 2 PM IST.