Date:31/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/31/stories/2008123156501800.htm

Sport

Ganguly makes it six in a row

P. K. Ajith Kumar

Akshayraj Kore finishes runner-up on his debut

— Photo: R. Eswarraj

FANTASTIC FEAT: A beaming Surya Shekhar Ganguly displays the trophy for winning the National ‘A’ chess title for an unprecedented sixth time in a row.

MANGALORE: As the clock struck one on Tuesday afternoon, Surya Shekhar Ganguly walked quietly into the history books. The 25-year-old from Kolkata became the first player in the 53-year history of the National ‘A’ men’s chess championship to win six titles in a row.

But, much to his shock, he was stretched in the final round at the Karnataka Bank Auditorium by his younger rival from Chennai, M. Shyam Sundar, who turned down an early offer for a draw from the champion, rated 201 points above him.

“Yes, I was quite taken aback when he declined,” the top-seeded Ganguly admitted later, after taking his tally to eight points from 12 games. “But I am impressed by the way he decided to fight it out when he easily could have got half-a-point from a stronger rival.”

In fact, all the six boards produced at least some kind of fight, though they all ended in draws.

Negi misses out

It was a player who didn’t have a game in the final round, the debutant Akshayraj Kore, who finished runner-up. The 21-year-old from Pune came second after the 55-move battle between J. Deepan Chakravarthy and Parimarjan Negi failed to produce a decisive result.

Kore tied with Negi on 7.5 points but he finished ahead because he had won when the two had met, in the penultimate round. The second-seeded Negi had to be content with a third place.

The remaining three berths on the Indian team for the various international tournaments were grabbed by Deepan, who scored seven points, K. Ratnakaran and Neelotpal Das.

Ratnakaran and Neelotpal had 6.5 points apiece — the same as Sriram Jha, who missed out on the tie-breaker (direct encounter).

As Jha later said, he had only himself to blame; he wasn’t willing to take his chances against B. Adhiban in the final round when he had everything to play for.

He settled for a 21-move draw from the white side of a King’s Indian Samisch.

Jha’s draw suited Ratnakaran fine as he immediately drew his game with M.S. Thejukumar, after 22 moves from Caro-Kann Defence. Now Neelotpal too required just half-a-point, so he opted for a safer move against S. Satyapragyan and drew in 20 moves of Sicilian Defence.

Tight game

Ganguly, playing from the white side of a French Defence McCutcheon, was allowed no such luxury by Shyam; the double-edged game, with a rook-bishop ending, was finally drawn in 30 moves with the prospect of a repetition of moves.

Ganguly thus finished his campaign unbeaten, the only player to do so in the 13-player field. He said he wasn’t particularly pleased with the quality of his games here, as he had decided to play in the tournament just three or four days before it started.

“But it feels good that I could make history,” he added.

Ganguly has bettered the record of Manuel Aaron’s five successive triumphs, from 1969 to 1975. His great run had begun in Kozhikode in 2003 when he triumphed in the strongest ever National championship, which had 23 gruelling rounds.

The results (13th and final round): J. Deepan Chakravarthy 7 drew with Parimarjan Negi 7.5; Sriram Jha 6.5 drew with B. Adhiban 4; Surya Shekhar Ganguly 8/12 drew with M. Shyam Sundar 4.5; Neelotpal Das 6.5 drew with S. Satyapragyan 6; K. Ratnakaran 6.5 drew with M.S. Thejkumar 4.5; P. Konguvel 4.5 drew with Praveen Thipsay 5; Akshayraj Kore 7.5 bye.

The standings: 1. Ganguly 8, 2-3. Kore and Negi 7.5, 4. Deepan 7, 5-7. Ratnakaran, Neelotpal and Jha 6.5, 8. Satyapragyan 6, 9. Thipsay 5, 10-12. Thejkumar, Shyam and Konguvel 4.5, 13. Adhiban 4.