India's father-son duo fights back with quick wins in online classical chess

NAGPUR: Two days after they had mixed luck, the father-son duo of Akash and Aarit Thakur fought their way back to post victories in contrasting fashion in Round 3 of the first Online Hersonissos International Classical Chess Tournament on Monday.
The nine-round meet being played from home by 52 participants is organised by the Greek Chess Federation through the platform of chess.com.
While seed No. 8 and FIDE Master (FM) Akash made a comeback a day after losing to a lower-ranked player, nine-year-old Aarit ensured a quick 26-move victory.
On the ninth board, Akash utilised his opening advantage to outclass compatriot Md Bashiq Imrose.Playing with the regular King Pawn opening. Akash took 47 moves to beat the Sicilian dragon defence opted by Bashiq.
“On the 22nd move, I sacrificed my rook for his knight. Within the next 10 moves, he lost his queen and my position became better. Finally, in the endgame, my queen and bishop were enough to ensure win,” Akash told TOI.
On the 19th board, Aarit upset Azerbaijan’s Mammadzada Emin Serraf. Replying to Serraf’s King Pawn move, Aarit chose the Ruy Lopez opening.
Mid-game, Aarit took control when he trapped his opponent's knight. To defend his position, Serraf sacrificed his queen. Thereafter, the Nagpur boy laid an attack with his queen and rook as Serraf resigned in the 26th move.