Lanka Ravi holds Venkatesh, takes title

By P. K. Ajith Kumar

TIRUR, SEPT. 22. On a wet evening in a quiet northern Kerala town, Lanka Ravi's wait for a National title was finally over. It could not have come at a better time. It could not have been achieved in a more convincing manner either.

He finished unbeaten to win the eighth National rapid chess championship for the Kainikkara memorial trophy at the Thunchan Memorial Research Centre on Saturday.

``This title means a lot to me,'' the 39-year-old International Master from ONGC, Chennai, told The Hindu shortly after his quick draw in the final round with M.R. Venkatesh of Tamil Nadu.

``I haven't won an important tournament like this for a long time, and this would boost my quest for the Grandmaster title,'' he said watching the rain (a rare privilege for a Chennai resident).

Since his progressive score was better than his rivals, second- seeded Ravi, a former Asian rapid champion, needed only a draw to win the championship.

So he promptly offered a draw after the eighth move (for the record he faced Queens Indian Defence), and Venkatesh was quick to accept it. That gave Venkatesh, the 16-year-old Chennai lad third place, seven slots higher than his seeding.

Ravi finished with seven points, the same as fourth- seeded Neelotpal Das of Goodricke National Chess Academy, Kolkata, who won the runner-up spot.

The two had came face to face in the eighth round, but neither wanted to take chances in that game from French Defence and decided to split the point.

Ravi drew in the seventh round too, with his team-mate Varughese Koshy, who had adopted Modern Defence. They signed the peace treaty in an unclear position featuring double rook and two minor pieces on either side.

It was indeed Neelotpal Das' first game of the day - four rounds were played on Saturday - against the top seed and fellow overnight leader Tejas Bakre of Indian Airlines that proved crucial.

After opting for French Weinawar, he defended well against an early onslaught from White, then went a piece up, and was threatening to win further material when Bakre, who had to content with fifth place after such a promising start, gave up.

On the second board in the final round, Neelotpal, playing on the black side of a Kings Indian Attack, held the advantage from the opening against a passive Ram S. Krishnan of Tamil Nadu to score a comprehensive win that took him to the second position.

In the seventh round, he had turned the tables on Bakre with a combination, which gave him the queen for a rook after facing Sicilian Defence.

Bakre's miseries were far from over, as he was held to a draw in the last round by Kerala's Alex Thomas, who had shocked T.S. Ravi of PSCB in the seventh round.

It turned out to be a good tournament for the host, with Alex finishing ninth and K. Ratnakaran sixth. Rarely does Kerala do that well on the chessboard.

lThe results (ninth round): Lanka Ravi (PSCB) 7 drew with M.R. Venkatesh (TN) 6.5; Ram S. Krishnan (TN) 6 lost to Neelotpal Das (GNCA) 7; Alex Thomas (Ker) 6 drew with Tejas Bakre (IA) 6; S. Satyakam (Ori) 5.5 lost to S. Satypragyan (Ori) 6.5; R.R. Laxman (TN) 6 bt Sudhakar N. Babu (IB) 5; P. Konguvel (PSCB) 6 bt Ebenezer Joseph (P & T) 5; T.S. Ravi (PSCB) 5.5 drew with Varughese Koshy (PSCB) 5.5; Karun Duggal (Del) 5 lost to K. Ratnakaran (Ker) 6; Jayant Gokhale (PSCB) 5.5 bt Yogesh Gore (Cha) 4.5; Santosh Kumar Sinha (Bih) 5.5 bt G.B. Joshi (IA) 4.5; Praful Mehta (Guj) 4 lost to R.S. Gupta (Cha) 5; Ravi Kumar (Cha) 5 bt E.P. Nirmal (Ker) 4; Dinesh Kumar (T.Nagar Chess Academy, Chennai) 4 lost to T.S. Ventakaraman (Goa) 5; S. Mariarul (Chromepet Chess Academy, Chennai) 4.5 drew with Rohit A. Kadam (Goa) 4.5; P.A. Mohammed Favas (Ker) 3.5 lost to C.S. Gokhale (IA) 4.5; Rahul Shetty (IA) 4 bt Abhash Kumar (NLM, Bihar) 3; Kandi Ravi (AP) 4 bt K. Darsan (Ker) 3; Abhimod (Ker) 4 bt V. Hari Balu (Chennai Chess Academy) 3; George K. Samuel (Ker) 3 lost to Aswin Shroff (Guj) 4; A.K. Patnakar (Goa) 4 bt P.A. Fajara (Ker) 3; F.A. Afshaq (CCA) 3.5 bt Sabu Jacob (Ker) 2; Moseen Moneer (J & K) 1 lost to Sanjay Ramadas (Goa) 3.5; M. Karthika (Ker) 0.5 lost to Jowner Rasheed (J & K) 3.

Eighth round: Neelotpal drew with Lanka Ravi; Babu lost to Ram; Koshy lost to Venkatesh; Alex drew with Satyakam; Bakre bt Joshi; Satyapragyan bt Jayant Gokhale; Ratnakaran bt Sinha; Venkataraman lost to Konguvel; Mariarul lost to T.S. Ravi; Ebenezer bt Ravi Kumar; Laxman bt Mehta; C.S. Gokhale lost to Duggal; Gore bt Shetty; Gupta bt Patnakar; Hari lost to Dinesh; Nirmal bt George; Kadam bt Kandi Ravi; Darsan drew with Favas; Shroff bt Afshaq; Sabu lost to Abhimod; Fajara bt Rasheed; Abhash bt Moseen; Sanjay bt Karthika.

Seventh round: Lanka Ravi drew with Koshy; Neelotpal bt Bakre; Gokhale drew with Babu; T.S. Ravi lost to Alex; Sinha drew with Satyapragyan; Venkatesh bt Mariarul; Ram bt Ratnakaran; Satyakam bt Venkataraman; Joshi bt Gore; Konguvel bt C.S. Gokhale; Ravi Kumar bt Patnakar; Dinesh Kumar lost to Laxman; Kandi Ravi lost to Ebenezer; George lost to Mehta; Favas lost to Duggal; Shetty drew with Gupta; Rasheed lost to Nirmal; Abhimod lost to Kadam; Hari bt Shroff; Ashfaq bt Abhash; Sanjay lost to Darsan; Moseen lost to Sabu; Karthika lost to Fajara.

Sixth round: Bakre lost to Lanka Ravi; Babu bt Venkatesh; Koshy bt Venkataraman; C.S. Gokhale lost to Neelotpal; Satyapragyan drew with Ram; Ratnakaran drew with Jayant Gokhale; Gore lost to Mariarul; Konguvel lost to Satyakam; Ebenezer lost to T.S. Ravi; Mehta lost to Sinha; Joshi bt Shetty; Gupta lost to Dinesh; Kadam lost to Ravi Kumar; Laxman bt Rasheed; Duggal bt Hari; Nirmal lost to Favas; George bt Abhimod; Patnakar bt Ashfaq; Shroff bt Moseen; Abhash bt Sabu; Fajara lost to Sanjay; Darsan bt Karthika.

The placings: 1-2: Lanka Ravi and Neelotpal 7; 3-4: Venkatesh and Satyapragyan 6.5; 5-10: Bakre; Ratnakaran, Ram, Alex, Konguvel and Laxman 6.

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