Vlissingen (The Netherlands): Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua scored a hard fought victory over International Master Perez Rodney of Cuba to take the joint lead after the seventh round of the Hogeschool Zeeland International Open chess tournament here.

It turned out to be another good outing for Parimarjan Negi as he held higher ranked GM Friso Nijboer of The Netherlands to an easy draw to remain in joint lead after the top four boards failed to yield results despite tough fights.

With just two rounds to go in the nine-round Swiss event, as many as seven players are joint leaders with six points each out of a possible seven. They include GM Vyacheslkav Ikonnikov of Russia, GM Michal Krasenkow of Poland, GM Erwin L’Ami of The Netherlands, IM Mikhail Klenburg of Ukraine, Nijboer, Barua and Negi.

In the penultimate round, it is going to be tough fight for Negi as he meets second seed Krasenkow, while Barua will take on Nijboer in what is expected to be a bloody battle.

IM-in-waiting Saptarshi Roy and IM Roktim Bandyopadhyay scored over Dutch rivals Zomer Koos and Plukkel Sjoerd, respectively while IM Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury was held by Matthieu Freeke.

Things unfolded quite dramatically in the game between Barua and Rodney wherein the Indian played with white pieces. It was an Italian opening by Barua that only gave a minimal advantage and Rodney was quite up to the task in exchanging pieces at regular intervals. (PTI)