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Mitrabha becomes favorite to win it all, Rajdeep loses out of the race

Who do you think will become the champion? Mitrabha, Koustav or Sanket? | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Just when things were about to heat up, the players decided to shake their hands and accept a draw.

Would you have accepted a draw after Mitrabha's 29...Qd6 ?

Mitrabha kept pressing from the get-go in English Opening. Rajdeep did not budge, until...

Rajdeep blundered here with 43...Ng7. After that it was all just a matter of technique

Top two boards ended up in a draw however not without fight in round 7

Both Rajdeep and Sanket tried their best, yet neither could come out at the top | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

After 4 hours long grueling battle, a draw was all they could ask for.

Samriddhaa made short work on Swapnil in just 29 moves | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Black's last move 23...Nc5 was a mistake. Find out why.

Rupam Mukherjee had the quickest win in just 21 moves when his opponent Rajarshi Mandal imploded | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

With a bit of luck on his side and poise, can he make a podium finish today? | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

White to play and draw

Ayan Pal had a lot of luck on his side when his opponent Anubhab Gupta blundered in a drawn King-pawn endgame.

Is Praloy Sahoo the 'Dark Horse' of the tournament? | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Praloy Sahoo made a quick work of Dhritabrata Kundu in just 23 moves in Center Counter opening.

Three draws in top 4 boards makes the tournament wide open in round 8

Sanket and Koustav are engaged in a pre-match banter | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Their match did not have much to talk about as they made a draw in just 25 moves in an uneventful game.

Shuvam Roy managed to hold Samriddhaa Ghosh to a draw in French Defence Advance variation where both players were unable to get any kind of upper hand against the other.

Debarghya Samanta drew with Rupam Mukherjee in a marathon game of 96 moves where both sides did not make any significant mistake | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Ayan Pal had an easy win against Anushka Gupta. Find out the final combination here

Find the correct continuation for Black here

Praloy managed to slowly turn things around in his favor in the endgame and eventually liquidate into a winning position.

Photo Gallery:

Birthday celebration of IA Paul Arokia Raj S | Photos: Pintu Chatterjee and Shahid Ahmed

When both sides go for an all-out attack | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Eyeing a checkmate | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Is it a draw or can Black push for a win? | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

It's not over until it's over | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Pencils are a good chew toy...except they are not | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

The face you make when your opponent does a Rg7 sac | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

That moment when you know that you are being photographed for your king taking a walk in the park | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Samriddhaa Ghosh scouts her future opponent after finishing her match | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Birthday Celebration of Chief Arbiter of 27th The Telegraph Schools' Chess 2018 - IA Paul Arokia Raj S | Video: Shahid Ahmed

Round 8 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	2	FM	Mitrabha Guha	2351	6½	1 - 0	6½	FM	Rajdeep Sarkar	2370	1
2	4		Sanket Chakravarty	1974	6½	½ - ½	6½		Koustav Chatterjee	2345	3
3	17		Shuvam Roy	1681	6	½ - ½	6		Ghosh Samriddhaa	1892	6
4	25	AIM	Debarghya Samanta	1595	6	½ - ½	6		Rupam Mukherjee	1875	7
5	10		Ayan Pal	1827	6	1 - 0	6		Anushka Gupta	1455	45
6	20		Diya Chowdhury	1652	6	0 - 1	6		Praloy Sahoo	1795	11
7	12		Soham Dey	1770	6	½ - ½	6		Pratyay Chowdhury	1645	21
8	8		Sambarta Banerjee	1874	5½	1 - 0	6	AGM	Srihaan Poddar	1383	59
9	9		Aditya Bikram Paul	1873	5½	1 - 0	5½		Anish Rooj	1584	26
10	16		Mohanty Soyamsree	1706	5½	1 - 0	5½		Subhabrata Roy	1525	35

Round 9 pairings

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	11		Praloy Sahoo	1795	7		7½	FM	Mitrabha Guha	2351	2
2	3		Koustav Chatterjee	2345	7		7		Ayan Pal	1827	10
3	7		Rupam Mukherjee	1875	6½		7		Sanket Chakravarty	1974	4
4	1	FM	Rajdeep Sarkar	2370	6½		6½		Shuvam Roy	1681	17
5	6		Ghosh Samriddhaa	1892	6½		6½	AIM	Debarghya Samanta	1595	25
6	21		Pratyay Chowdhury	1645	6½		6½		Sambarta Banerjee	1874	8
7	23		Alekhya Mukhopadhyay	1617	6½		6½		Soham Dey	1770	12
8	16		Mohanty Soyamsree	1706	6½		6½		Sagnik Saha	1478	41
9	47		Anjishnu Mondal	1440	6		6		Bhattacharyya Soham	1727	13
10	15		Rounak Pathak	1719	6		6		Aritrya Pal	1439	48

27th Telegraph Chess 2018: Mitrabha takes sole lead heading into the final round

Mitrabha becomes favorite to win it all, Rajdeep loses out of the race

Top two boards ended up in a draw however not without fight in round 7