Harikrishna slips to second spot

LONDON, AUG. 26. Graeme Buckley, who makes a living more as a chess coach than player, defeated young Harikrishna in the eighth round of the Commonwealth chess championships being held as part of the Ron Banwell Mind Sports Organisation's activities here.

Last night, Harikrishna's dramatic run, which saw him lead for some time, was halted by Buckley when the Englishman inflicted on him a defeat in a rather unexpected manner.

That took Buckley into sole lead with 6.5 points from eight rounds, while Harikrishna shares the second spot with Daniel Gormally and Dimitri Anagnostopoulos of Greece with six points each.

Meanwhile, it is now clear that Harikrishna now only needs to apply for his GM title to get it. That will be done next month when the FIDE Congress meets to confirm titles. India's Abhijit Kunte is in the fifth position with 5.5 points, while four of his compatriots - Lanka Ravi, Pravin Thipsay, Dibyendu Barua and Neeraj Kumar Mishra - are in the 11- way tie for the sixth place with five points each. Konguvel is in the tie for the 17th place with 4.5 points.

All three Indian women lost their eighth round games. Bhagyashree now has four points despite her eighth round loss to Peter Sowray, while Saheli Dhar Barua and Pratibha have 3.5 points each from eight rounds.

Standings (after eight rounds): 1 Buckley (6.5); 2-4. Gormally (Eng), Anagnostopoulos (Gre) and Harikrishna (Ind) 6.0 each; 5. Kunte (Ind) 5.5. 6-16. Ravi (Ind), Thipsay, Houska (Eng), Mcnab (Sco), Barle (Slo), Barua, Eames (Eng), Batyrov (Tkm), Mishra (Ind), Mcdonald (Eng) and Sowray (Eng) 5.0 each.

Other Indians: Konguvel (4.5), Bhagyashree, Saheli Dhar Barua and Pratibha (3.5 each).

Results (Eighth round): Buckley bt Harikrishna, Gormally bt McDonald, Houska lost to Anagnostopoulos, Thipsay drew with Kunte, Mishra drew with McNab, Crouch lost to Barle, Aikhoje lost to Barua, Bigg lost to Batyrov.

Ravi bt Fox, Friedland drew with Kirsanov, Sowray bt Bhagyashree, Annaberdiev lost to Eames, Shiomi bt Lyell, Dekker lost to Konguvel, Bass drew with Franklin, Saheli lost to Maduekwe, Thiruchelvam bt Warman, Salem bt Pratibha, Rendle drew with Spink, Manodip Dhar bt Barron, Richards bt Stirling, Cork lost to Nelson, Harman lost to Coffey, Cox drew with Gardner, Kreuzer lost to Njotea, Szabo drew with Scott, Young drew with Arunmathi, Turner bt Macleod.

- UNI

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