SANGLI: International Masters Andrew Webster of England and Sharad Tilak of India were engaged in a battle of wits for the title as they shared a narrow lead going into the final round of the 32nd S K Vaidya Memorial Fide Rated Open Chess tournament.

Both Webster and Tilak scored contrasting victories in the 10th and penultimate round on Wednesday to share the top spot with eight points. Nine players -- V Sareen, P Konguvel, Gunasekaran, S Babu, S Vijayalakshmi, S Satyapragyan, Dipanjan Das, Pankaj Joshi and Pallavi Shah were half a point behind.

Manipur in final

SHILLONG: Holders Manipur today cruised into the final of seventh National Women Senior National Soccer Championship by trouncing kerala 5-0 at the Polo Ground here. This is their seventh consecutive entry into the championship final.

Bengal and Orissa meet in the second semi-final.

-- Agencies