Indian women’s A team notched up their seventh successive victory against sixth seed Azerbaijan with a 2.5-1.5 score to maintain their sole lead in the women’s section with 14 points at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu on Friday.
India A, though, did suffer a few hiccups after Koneru Humpy ended on the losing side in the first game. However, Tania Sachdev and R Vaishali once again rose to the occasion magnificently by scoring hard fought victories while Harika Dronavalli also battled hard to split the point.
Vaishali played splendidly in a drawn position, pressurising her opponent with precise positive play and finally scoring a delightful victory.
Vaishali later commented: “Till the 40th turn, my game was dead equal and I considered settling for a draw. After Humpy’s loss, I had to keep pressing and interestingly, this was one position which we had worked in the camp with Boris Gelfand and I followed his suggestions to the ‘T’.”
A hall mark of the women’s A team has been the ability of every player to score a win when the team needed it most.
“The way Harika, Vaishali and Tania continued in this pressure situation is very heartening. The players understand the situation perfectly and deliver,” India A captain Abhijit Kunte said.
Meanwhile in the open section, India A hit the accelerator when it mattered, defeating compatriots in India C with a 3-1 score.
Arjun Erigaisi defeated Abhijit Gupta and SL Narayanan outplayed Abhimany Puranik even while Pnetala Harikrishna was held to a draw by Surya Shekhar Ganguly and SP Sethuraman forced Vidit to split the point.
India B, after a loss to Armenia in the 6th round, bounced back with a 3.5-0.5 score against Cuba with D Gukesh leading from the front once again to notch his seventh successive victory in the tournament.
Nihal Sarin and R Praggnanandhaa too made merry with two fine victories while Adhiban B was held to a draw.
In another setback for the star-studded USA Team, Armenia held them to a 2-2 draw and continued their sole vigil at
the top of the points tally with 13 points. India A and India B, USA , Uzbekistan are trailing behind with 12 points each.
India B in the women section lost to Greece 1.5-2.5.
Divya Deshmukh scored the lone victory for India while Vantika Agrawal and Soumya Swaminathan lost their encounters and Mary Ann Gomes had to stay content with a draw.
India Women C team defeated Switzerland 3-1.
Top 10 results of the day
Open
India A beat India C (3-1)
Armenia drew against USA (2-2)
France drew against Netherlands (2-2)
Serbia lost to Germany (1.5-2.5)
Cuba lost to India B (0.5-3.5)
Peru lost to Uzbekistan (0-4)
Spain lost to Kazakastan (1.5-2.5)
Azerbaijan beat Israel (3-1)
Greece drew against Ukraine (2-2)
Brazil beat England (2.5-1.5)Women
Azerbaijan lost to India A (1.5-2.5)
Georgia beat Romania (2.5-1.5)
Ukraine beat Netherlands (3.5-0.5)
Poland drew against Bulgaria (2-2)
Armenia beat Israel (2.5-1.5)
Kazakhastan beat Vietnam (2.5-1.5)
India B lost to Greece (1.5-2.5)
Mongolia beat Cuba (3.5-0.5)India C beat Switzerland (3-1)Open
India A beat India C (3-1)
Armenia drew against USA (2-2)
France drew against Netherlands (2-2)
Serbia lost to Germany (1.5-2.5)
Cuba lost to India B (0.5-3.5)
Peru lost to Uzbekistan (0-4)
Spain lost to Kazakastan (1.5-2.5)
Azerbaijan beat Israel (3-1)
Greece drew against Ukraine (2-2)
Brazil beat England (2.5-1.5)Women
Azerbaijan lost to India A (1.5-2.5)
Georgia beat Romania (2.5-1.5)
Ukraine beat Netherlands (3.5-0.5)
Poland drew against Bulgaria (2-2)
Armenia beat Israel (2.5-1.5)
Kazakhastan beat Vietnam (2.5-1.5)
India B lost to Greece (1.5-2.5)
Mongolia beat Cuba (3.5-0.5)
India C beat Switzerland (3-1)
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