Mary, Adhiban shoot into lead

Kolkata: Woman Grandmaster Mary Ann Gomes of Bengal and IM B Adhiban of Petroleum Sports Board jumped into the lead with 9.5 points after Round XII of the National B Chess Championship at Town Hall here today. Mary played brilliantly to beat overnight leader Deep Sengupta in a crucial top board encounter. Deep, who led throughout the championship crashed to his second successive defeat and now occupies the joint second spot with Himanshu Sharma and M S Thejkumar ahead of the final round tomorrow. Second seed, B Adhiban of Petrolium Sports Board made short work of his Tamil Nadu state-mate T Abhay by a spirited kingside attack with his rook and minor pieces to force a mating net around his opponents king. Bureau Report