Dubai: Teenager S. P. Sethuraman scored a smashing victory over Woman Grandmaster Maria Sargeeva of Kazakhstan and moved within striking distance of his maiden International Master norm after the sixth round of Dubai International Open Chess Championship here.

GM R. B. Ramesh did well to hold GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan of Iran.

Double GM norm holder Parimarjan Negi was at his technical best in cruising past compatriot M. R. Lalith Babu while IM Abhijeet Gupta scored a finely crafted victory over a M. Soozankar of Iran.

At the top of the table, former world junior champion Darmen Sadvakasov of Kazakhstan scored over GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko of Ukraine to emerge as the sole leader. (PTI)