Lilit Mkrtchian takes sole lead

KOZHIKODE, AUG. 24. Koneru Humpy and Aarthie Ramaswamy kept their medal hopes alive in the World junior chess championship in Athens, as the action resumed on Thursday after a day's rest. Both had five points apiece after the seventh round and were in the joint third spot among others.

Humpy, the 14-year-old Woman Grandmaster (WGM) who began as India's best bet in the competition, got back to winning ways, after the disappointments in the last couple of rounds, when she defeated compatriot and Asian junior champion M. Kasturi. Aarthie held the fourth seed Elisabeth Paehtz of Germany to a draw on the third board. The Chennai girl, seeded 20th, is seeking her final WGM norm.

S. Meenakshi, also from the Southern metropolis, won her game against the lower rated Elli Sperdokli of host Greece to take her tally to four points, the same as Kasturi. Armenia's Lilit Mkrtchian, seeded sixth, took the sole lead after her win against the overnight leader and third seed Nadezhda Kosintseva of Russia. She had six points, that's a half-a-point lead, with six rounds remaining.

P. Magesh Chandran, with 4.5 points, once again looked the Indian boy in form, as he held the ninth seed Michael Roiz of Israel to a draw. Tejas Bakre beat lower rated Yakup Erturan of Turkey to take his score also to 4.5. K. Ratnakaran, the surprise bronze medalist at the Asian junior championship at Teheran last month, drew with Joost Berkvens of the Netherlands, seeded 28 places above, while M.R. Venkatesh got the better of Tomas Krivousas of Lituania.

There was no change at the top of the boys' field, with Sergei Azarov of Belarus maintaining his sole lead, following his draw with China's Bu Xiangzhi, the World's youngest Grandmaster. Azarov, unbeaten still, had six points, half-a-point ahead of Xiangzhi, Merab Gagunashivil of Georgia, David Navara of the Czech Republic and Ni Hua of China, the top seed.

lImportant results (seventh round): Boys: Bu Xiangzhi (Chn) 5.5 drew with Sergei Azarov (Blr) 6; Merab Gagunashvili (Geo) 5.5 drew with David Navara (Cze) 5.5; Ni Hua (Chn) 5.5 bt Anton Korobov (Ukr) 4.5; Gabriel Sargissian (Arm) 5 drew with Levon Aronian (Arm) 5; Evgeny Shaposhnikov (Rus) 5 bt Marek Stryjecki (Pol) 4; Jan Markos (Svk) 4.5 drew with Kamil Miton (Pol) 4.5; Peter Acs (Hun) 5 bt Olzhas Khamzin (Kaz) 4; P. Magesh Chandran (Ind) 4.5 drew with Michael Roiz (Isr) 4.5; Emanuel Berg (Swe) 5 bt John Paul Gomez (Phi) 5; Artur Nieksans (Lat) 4 lost to Evgeny Postny (Isr) 5; Spyridon Kapnisis (Gre) 4.5 drew with Amon Simutowe (Zam) 4.5; Stefan Kristjansson (Isl) 4 drew with Dimitrij Bunzmann (Ger) 4; Zviad Izoria (Geo) 4 drew with Zhao Zong-Yuan (Aus) 4; Tejas Bakre (Ind) 4.5 bt Yakup Erturan (Tur) 3.5; Joost Berkvens (Ned) 3.5 drew with K. Ratnakaran (Ind) 3.5; Tomas Krivousas (Ltu) 3 lost to M.R. Venkatesh (Ind) 4.

Girls: Nadezhda Kosintseva (Rus) 5.5 lost to Lilit Mkrtchian (Arm) 6; Xu Yuanyuan (Chn) 5 lost to Tatiana Kosintseva (Rus) 5.5; Aarthie Ramaswamy (Ind) 5 drew with Elisabteh Paehtz (Ger) 5; Gu Xiaobing (Chn) 5 bt Sopiko Khukhashvili (Geo) 4.5; Koneru Humpy (Ind) 5 bt M. Kasturi (Ind) 4; Jana Jackova (Cze) 4 lost to Inga Charkhalashvili (Geo) 5; Ekaterina Ubiennykh (Rus) 4 lost to Nana Dzagnidze (Geo) 5; Iweta Radziewicz (Pol) 4 drew with Cristina Moshina (Mda) 4; Dana Reizniece (Lat) 4.5 bt Sofya Zigangirova (Kaz) 3.5; Darja Kaps (Svk) 4 drew with Olga Zimina (Rus) 4; Marisa Zuriel (Arg) 4.5 bt Cristina Calotescu (Rom) 3.5; Natalia Hryhorenko (Ukr) 4 drew with Iroda Khamrakulova (Uzb) 4; S. Meenakshi (Ind) 4 bt Elli Sperdokli (Gre) 3.

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