Huang, Vijayalakshmi in joint lead

By Arvind Aaron

CHENNAI, SEPT. 4. Untitled Huang Quain of China and top seed Woman Grandmaster Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman are leading with three victories each after three rounds of the ninth India Cements Asian women's chess championship here on Tuesday.

While Vijayalakshmi posted two hard-earned victories, the next best hope, Swati Ghate, had a dismal day losing both games to put her qualification in jeopardy. Nisha Mohota and Maria Sergeeva of Kazakhstan are tied for the third place with 2.5 points.

Using her greater experience and energy in a long 67-move encounter, Vijayalakshmi defeated giant killer Anjela Khegay of Uzbekistan using a dual threat of pawn promotion and mating threat. In a king's Indian defence, fianchetto variation, Vijayalakshmi's advantage was tiny. Black's attempt to go on a pawn grabbing mission was punished by the Indian Airlines star who combined her queen and bishops well against the defensive black knights.

Nisha Mohota was lucky to survive with a draw in 60 moves, after she lost a bishop, against higher rated IWM Sergeeva Maria of Kazakhstan. In a Larsen opening, Nisha, as white, ceded the baton of advantage in the middle game. Fortunes swung wildly in the ending and when it was over, Nisha emerged from the hall with a smile.

Swati Ghate had a bad day losing twice, and on both occasions it was defeat on move 28. Her second defeat of the day was against Elena Levushkina with the black pieces from a Sicilian defence.

Anupama Gokhale also lost twice, playing a faulty pawn sacrifice with the white pieces in a modern Benoni opening. Her conqueror in the third round was the untitled Wang Yu of China.

Bhagyashree Thipsay who was beaten by Lin Ruofan of China castled on the queen side by mistake with the black pieces and ran out of ideas before losing in 35 moves.

After suffering two successive defeats, M. Kasturi woke up to defeat Anupama Konara of Sri Lanka with the white pieces in an easy game lasting 28 moves.

China's joint leader Huang Quain scored over IWM Iroda Khamrakulova of Uzbekistan with the white pieces from a queen's gambit declined opening in 41 moves. Positional queen sacrifices are rare. Huang sacrificed her queen for a rook and bishop and won by using her passed queen pawn. Huang will face favourite Vijayalakshmi in the game which will decide the leader on Wednesday.

Among Indians, Saheli Barua played well today and won her first game of the event defeating veteran Rani Hamid of Bangladesh in 55 moves with the white pieces from a Sicilian defence.

Local Chennai IWMs Meenakshi Subaraman and Aarthie Ramaswamy drew in 65 moves after reaching a minor piece ending from a king's Indian defence.

Dronavalli Harika held Gu Xiaobing, the high rated Chinese player to a 91-move draw after playing brilliantly with the white pieces. Harika obtained a winning ending but blundered the advantage with a pawn move and let the Chinese off the hook. Her lack of winning technique allowed black to draw. Harika had a bishop and three pawns against a lone rook of her opponent when she blundered one of her pawns.

At the end of the second round in the afternoon, six players were in the lead with maximum two points. It included Vijayalakshmi and Nisha Mohota from India, Anjela Khegay and Iroda Khamrakulova from Uzbekistan, Sergeeva Maria from Kazakhstan and Huang Quain from China. Vijayalakshmi played like a computer programme, accepting the pawn sacrifice and defending white's attack. In a Scotch game, Vijayalakshmi allowed white to establish a big pawn mass in the centre. The untitled Chinese Yu Ting sacrificed a pawn on the 18th move which turned out to be a mistake. Vijayalakshmi gobbled the pawn and later finished off with a bishop sacrifice to win on the 30th turn.

Fourth-seeded Maria Sergeeva of Kazakhstan scored a squelching 40-move victory over two-time winner Anupama Gokhale. Clamping black first in a transposed Caro-Kann defence opening, the Kazakh player sacrificed her rook for a pawn to win brilliantly by advancing her pawns.

International Woman Master Anjela Khegay of Uzbekistan won a strategic 38-move game with the white pieces when IWM Li Ruofan of China volunteered and walked into a selfmade trap to lose a bishop via a pin. Li played the Benko gambit as black and obtained a good position until she walked into this deadly pin.

International Woman Master Nisha Mohota continued her superb play by inflicting a nasty 28-move defeat on higher rated Swati Ghate with the black pieces in a Caro-Kann defence, advanced variation. Play involved some original planning from both sides and black practically gifted away a pawn on move six. Mohota used this open king rook file to give depth to her attack. In a major pieces ending, black's passed pawn on the seventh rank was more dangerous than white anticipated it to be. Swati Ghate resigned before waiting for black's queen sacrifice which would have won her opponent a rook.

Eight rounds remain to be played in this $8,000 event. The top 10 from here advance to the World chess championship for women to be staged at Moscow from November 24.

The results (third round): S. Vijayalakshmi (Ind) 3 bt Anjela Khegay (Uzb) 2; Nisha Mohota (Ind) 2.5 drew with Sergeeva Maria (Kaz) 2.5; Huang Quain (Chn) 3 bt Iroda Khamrakulova (Uzb) 2; S. Meenakshi (Ind) 2 drew with Aarthie Ramaswamy (Ind) 2; Zhao Xue (Chn) 2 bt Geldeyeva Mekhri (Trk) 1; Anupama Gokhale (Ind) 1 lost to Wang Yu (Chn) 2; Le Kieu Thien Kim (Vie) 1.5 drew with Yu Ting (Chn) 1.5; Dronavalli Harika (Ind) 1.5 drew with Gu Xiaobing (Chn) 1.5; Li Ruofan (Chn) 2 bt Bhagyashree Thipsay (Ind) 1; Nguyen Thi Thanh (Vie) 2 bt Zhang Jilin (Chn) 1; Elena Levshkina (Uzb) 2 bt Swati Ghate (Ind) 1; Saheli Barua (Ind) 1.5 bt Rani Hamid (Ban) 0.5; Afroza Khanam (Ban) 1 drew with Zakia Sultana (Ban) 1; Anupama Konara (Sri) 0.5 lost to M. Kasturi (Ind) 1; Nazrana Khan (Ban) 1 bt Vineetha Wijesuriya (Sri) 0; Y. Prathiba (Ind) 1 - bye.

Second round: Yu Ting (Chn) lost to S. Vijayalakshmi (Ind); Sergeeva Maria (Kaz) bt Anupama Gokhale (Ind); Khegay Anjela (Uzb) bt Li Ruofan (Chn); Geldeyeva Mekhri (Trk) drew with S. Meenakshi (Ind); Iroda Khamrakulova (Uzb) bt Nguyen Thi Thanh An (Vie); Swati Ghate (Ind) lost to Nisha Mohota (Ind); Zhang Jilin (Chn) lost to Hang Quain (Chn); Aarthie Ramaswamy (Ind) bt Elena Levushkina (Uzb); Wang Yu (Chn) bt Afroza Khanam Bably (Ban); M. Kasturi (Ind) lost to Zhao Xue (Chn); Vineetha Wijesuriya (Sri) lost to Le Kieu Thien Kim (Vie); Gu Xiaobing (Chn) bt Nazrana Khan (Ban); Zakia Sultana (Ban) drew with Saheli Barua (Ind); Bhagyashree Thipsay (Ind) bt Y. Prathiba (Ind); Rani Hamid (Ban) drew with Anupama Koonara (Sri); Dronavalli Harika (Ind) 1 bye.

The moves:

WGM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman-IWM Anjela Khegay, round three, king's Indian defence, E69: 1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.0-0 e5 7.d4 Nbd7 8.e4 c6 9.h3 Re8 10.Re1 exd4 11.Nxd4 Nc5 12.b3 a5 13.Bf4 h6 14.Qc2 a4 15.Rad1 Nh5 16.Be3 Qa5 17.Rb1 axb3 18.axb3 Qc7 19.b4 Ne6 20.Nde2 Ng5 21.g4 Nf6 22.Red1 Nd7 23.f4 Nh7 24.Kh1 f5 25.gxf5 gxf5 26.Bd4 Ndf6 27.exf5 Qf7 28.c5 d5 29.Ng3 h5 30.Rg1 h4 31.Nf1 Qh5 32.Ne3 Rxe3 33.Bxe3 Bxf5 34.Qf2 Bxb1 35.Nxb1 Re8 36.Nc3 Nf8 37.Bd4 Kh8 38.Bf3 Qh6 39.f5 N8d7 40.Rg6 Qf4 41.Ne2 Qxf5 42.Qxh4+ Kg8 43.Qg3 Re7 44.Ng1 Rf7 45.Rg5 Qh7 46.Qg2 Qh4 47.Ne2 Kf8 48.Bc3 Bh6 49.Rg6 Rg7 50.Rxg7 Bxg7 51.Nd4 Bh6 52.Nf5 Qf4 53.Nxh6 Qxh6 54.Bd2 Qh4 55.Bg5 Qe1+ 56.Kh2 Qxb4 57.Bh6+ Ke7 58.Qe2+ Kd8 59.Bg5 Qxc5 60.h4 Qd6+ 61.Kg2 Kc8 62.h5 Ne5 63.Bf4 Ne4 64.Bxe4 Qf6 65.Bf5+ Qxf5 66.Qxe5 Qf7 67.h6 1-0.

China's Huang Quain, who is in joint lead in the tournament, makes a move against IWM Iroda Khamrakulova of Uzbekistan in the ninth Asian women's chess championship in Chennai on Tuesday. The interested onlooker is another Uzbek, Anjela Khegay. - Photo: S. Thanthoni

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