The Hindu : Facile wins for Indian squads

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 03, 2002

Sport

Sport - Chess

Facile wins for Indian squads

By Arvind Aaron

Bled Nov. 2. The Indian women's team registered its second 3-0 sweep, by blanking Ecuador, and drastically improved its position in the 35th chess Olympiad, which reached its half-way mark on Friday.

The leaderboard in both the men's and women's section did not change, but the Russian men made heavy weather of Poland before winning 3-1, thanks to former World champions Garry Kasparov and Alexander Khalifman scoring with the white pieces, and take its tally to 21.5 points from 28 games.

In the women's event, though Georgia was held 1.5-1.5 by Russia, it kept its top position on 16.5 points from 21 games. The Chinese women swept France 3-0 to high jump to the second place with 16 points and bridge the Georgian lead.

The Indians were higher rated by Elo's system on all boards. Vijayalakshmi played purposefully and capitalised on WGM Martha Fierro's passive play to open two wings of attack and succeeded in 33 moves from the black side of the closed Sicilian Defence game. Vijayalakshmi was preparing to sacrifice her queen and checkmate her opponent when white denied that by resigning after playing listlessly.

India's win was set up by Aarthie Ramaswamy's brilliant 19-move win against the Sicilian Defence of IWM Vasquez Ramirez. Aarthie sacrificed a knight to train her forces on the uncastled black king and the latter resigned early without waiting to see how white would finish.

On the third board, Swathi Ghate played the Sicilian Paulsen opening with the black pieces against WFM Evelyn Moncayo. The Indian stopped white from castling and also did not castle. On the 22nd move, the Pune girl won a pawn and latched on to an incorrect bishop sacrifice from white on the 28th turn to win easily in 38 moves.

The Indian men emerged on top in the All-Asian pairing by beating the Philippines 3-1, thanks to wins coming from the two white boards of Sasikiran and Ganguly.

India is on 17.5 points and well placed for a complete recovery from of the two defeats suffered in rounds three and five.

On the top board Sasikiran's queen pawn opening as white was replied by an old Indian Defence set up by the veteran Torre.

Sasikiran took chances by trooping his knight into the enemy territory and even sacrificed it but Torre preferred not to take it. The energy draining calculations ended with Sasikiran making one of his two extra pawns count in 71 moves in a rook and bishop ending.

Harikrishna was fielded despite losing in round six and he defended with the queen's gambit declined with the black pieces against GM Buenaventura Villamayor on the second board.

After 29 moves, Harikrishna found that both sides did not have winning chances and exchanged his bishop for white's knight to force an opposite coloured bishop ending. He offered a draw and Villamayor did not find a reason to turn it down. On the third board, Ganguly won two pieces for a rook but had to play with a naked king with the white pieces against Mark Paragua's Sicilian Najdorf. The advancing pawns made the position extremely sharp and fertile for complications. Ganguly controlled the two queening squares of black with his bishops and rook and won by threatening to queen his own pawn on the seventh rank.

On the bottom board, Thipsay, who is on plus two, was tried and he defended the black side with the Ruy Lopez, closed opening. After the eight minor pieces were exchanged off, Thipsay was left in a major pieces game with his international master opponent, Nelson Mariano having the advantage.

But the white player exchanged rooks to enter a queen ending with an active queen. Thipsay defended well and made a draw after a marathon struggle to complete India's 3-1 win.

The results (round seven):

Men: Russia (21.5) bt Poland (18) 3-1, Czech Republic (18.5) drew with Romania (19) 2-2, Armenia (18.5) drew with Belarus (18.5) 2-2, Ukraine (17.5) lost to Georgia (18.5) 1.5-2.5, Netherlands (19) bt England (17) 3-1, Bosnia-Herzegovina (19) bt Spain (17) 3-1, Hungary (19) bt Slovenia `A' (16) 3.5-0.5, United States (17.5) drew with Lithuania (17.5) 2-2, India (17.5) bt Philippines (15.5) 3-1.

Women: Russia (15) drew with Georgia (16.5) 1.5-1.5, China (16) bt France (13) 3-0, Germany (14) drew with Romania (14.5) 1.5-1.5, United States (15) bt Kazakhstan (12) 3-0, Poland (13) drew with Bulgaria (13.5) 1.5-1.5, Ecuador (10.5) lost to India (13.5) 0-3.

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