Second seed Krishnan Sasikiran was held to a draw by Oliver Barbosa of the Philippines in the first round of the ongoing Asian Individual Chess Championship in Mashhad, Iran. Fresh from his exploits in the Dubai International Open, where he finished second, Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi scored a thumping victory over Lou Yiping of China to start on a positive note.
Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi scored his sixth victory on the trot, disposing of Oliver Barbosa of Philippines to retain his half-point lead with just one round to go in the Asian individual chess championship, in Ho Chi Minh on Saturday.