Date:26/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/26/stories/2008112660391900.htm

Sport - Chess

Indian men finish 16th, women 15th

NEW DELHI: Indian men defeated Slovakia 3-1 to finish 16th in the Chess Olympiad on a winning note at Dresden on Tuesday.

P. Hari Krishna and Surya Shekhar Ganguly won for India while K. Sasikiran and G.N. Gopal drew.

The ladies, however, lost 1.5-2.5 to sixth seed Armenia. D. Harika blundered a knight and resigned immediately on the top board. Rest of the games were drawn. India finished 15th.

Armenia, Georgia triumph

Armenia retained the open title with 19 match points after beating China 2.5-1.5 in the final round.

The ladies gold went to Georgia after being tied at 18 match points with Ukraine.

The results (11th round):

Open: India (26) bt Slovakia (27) 3-1 (K. Sasikiran drew with Sergei Movsesian; P. Hari Krishna bt Lubomir Ftacnik; Surya Shekhar Ganguly bt Tomas Petrik; G. N. Gopal drew with Peter Vavrak);

Ladies: India (25) lost to Armenia (28) 1.5-2.5 (D. Harika lost to Elina Danielian; Tania Sachdev drew with Lilit Mkrtchian; Swati Ghate drew with Nelly Aginian; Mary Ann Gomes drew with Lilit Galojan).

Standings: Open: 1. Armenia (19 match points), 2. Israel (18), 3. USA (17); 16. India (15). Ladies: 1. Georgia (18), 2. Ukraine (18), 3. USA (17); 15. India (14).