Indian Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte ended the year 2003 on a high defeating GM Peter Heine Nielsen of Denmark in the fourth round of Hastings International Chess Congress at Hastings, England on Wednesday.

Top seed GM Vladimir Epishin of Russia joined overnight leader Vasilios Kotronias in the lead on 3 points after beating GM Stuart Conquest of England.

Following the two leaders are GMs Mark Hebden of England and Jonathan Rowson of Scotland on 2.5 points while Abhijit is on joint fifth spot along side International Master Alexander Cherniaev of Russia and Nielsen with two points apiece.

Conquest, IM Daniel Gormally of England and Ukrainian youngster Kateryna Lahno jointly hold the eighth place on one point from four games. Five more rounds remain to be played in this 79th edition of the Congress.

Yesterday's victory was the first for Abhijit in the championship and was achieved in spectacular fashion as he squeezed and bruised the highly rated Nielsen en route to a checkmating net.

The opening featured standard manoeuvres of a Catalan where Abhijit, black, secured the dynamic balance by threatening to launch a kingside offence.

Nielsen exchanged the queens to get slightly better placed pieces but the Indian was quite up to the task in keeping his position intact.

In order to keep trying for more Nielsen erred and apparently underestimated Kunte's counter play in the rooks and minor piece.

Epishin was yet again brilliant with white pieces and scored easily over Conquest who employed the Kings Indian defence as black.

Getting the game to less trodden paths very early in the opening itself, Epishin conducted an attack on the queenside to win a pawn. Conquest could not avoid the routine exchange of pieces after that and lost on move 36.

Rowson was at his technical best in beating Daniel Gormally in the Ruy Lopez exchange variation. The Englishman could not really make a match of it and succumbed to a series of piece trade that transformed in to a won Bishop endgame for his opponent. The game lasted 52 moves.

The other two games of the fourth round were drawn. Lahno held Kotronias to a creditable draw in a well analysed variation of the Sicilian Classical.

Also settling for truce were Hebden and Cherniaev in a complex position arising out of a Dutch defence.

Results round 4:

Vladimir Epishin (3, Rus) beat Stuart Conquest (1, Eng); Mark Hebden (2.5, Eng) drew Alexander Cherniaev (2, Rus); Jonathan Rowson (2.5, Sco) beat Daniel Gormally (1, Eng), Peter Heine Nielsen (2, Den) lost to Abhijit Kunte (2, Ind); Kateryna Lahno (1, Ukr) drew Vasilios Kotronias (3, Cyp).

Standings after round 4:

1-2. Kotronias, Epishin 3 each; 3-4. Hebden, Rowson 2.5 each; 5-7. Kunte, Nielsen, Cherniaev 2 each; 8-10. Conquest, Gormally, Lahno 1 each.