Chess: Indian teams score at Chess Olympiad

The Indian men’s and women’s teams scored identical 2.5-1.5 victories over Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy respectively, in the sixth round of the 32nd chess Olympiad now underway in Dresden, Germany.

The Indian men moved to joint-third place with 10 points out of a possible 12 in the Open section and are now behind Russia and Armenia, who share the lead on 11 points each.

The women took their tally to nine points and share sixth place.

China (12 points) continue to lead the women’s section and opened up a two-point lead over nearest rivals United States after beating Hungary 2.5-1.5 in the sixth round.

Playing the top board, Krishnan Sasikiran defeated Predrag Nikolic of Bosnia-Herzegovina to open India’s account. That was the lone victory for the men, the remaining three games ending in draws.

P Harikrishna signed peace with Borki Predojevic while Ibro Saric and Dalibor Stojanovic held higher-ranked Indians Surya Shekhar Ganguly and Sandipan Chanda.

Among the women, Tania Sachdev succumbed to her first defeat in the tournament when she went down to Olga Zimina of Italy.

World junior girls’ champion D Harika’s hunt for an elusive victory on the top board continued after she was held by Elena Sedina. With India trailing, it needed the in-form Swati Ghate and Mary Ann Gomes to ensure victory.

Swati accounted for Elionora Ambrosi while Mary Ann defeated Marina Brunello.

At the top, Vladimir Kramnik and Dmitry Jakovenko showed the way as the Russian men cruised past England with an emphatic 3-1 victory.

Kramnik accounted for former World championship candidate Nigel Short on the top board while on the fourth board, Jakovenko proved too good for Stuart Conquest.

Armenia defeated Azerbaijan with Vladimir Akopian coming good on the second board against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. The remaining three games ended in draws.

Sasikiran displayed top form with his black pieces, who employed a Neo-Grunfeld defence and Nikolic was eventually out-manoeuvred.

Tania went down after some over-ambitious play with white pieces against Olga. It was a semi-Slav defence by the Italian that netted her a full point after 43 moves.

Swati scored a fine victory in the Sicilian defence with black pieces to take her personal score to 4.5 points out of 6 while Mary Ann proved too good in her 27-move triumph.

Important Round 6 results (match point in paranthesis):

Men: Russia (11) bt England (9) 3-1; Ukraine (10) drew with Germany ’1′ (10) 2-2; Azerbaijan (9) lost to Armenia (11) 1.5-2.5; France (10) bt Poland (8) 3-1; Bosnia & Herzegovina (8) lost to India (10) 1.5-2.5 (P Nikolic lost to Krishnan Sasikiran, P Harikrishna drew with Borki Predojevic, Ibro Saric drew with Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Dalibor Stojanovic drew with Sandipan Chanda); Sweden (8) lost to Israel (10) 1.5-2.5; Georgia (8) lost to China (10) 1.5-2.5; Romania (10) bt Bulgaria (8) 2.5-1.5; Colombia (7) lost to Hungary (9) 1.5-2.5; Netherlands (9) bt Moldova (7) 3-1.

Women: Hungary (9) lost to China (12) 1.5-2.5; Austria (8) lost to Russia (10) 1-3; Romania (8) lost to United States of America (10) 0-4; Georgia (8) lost to Poland (10) 1.5-2.5; Uzbekistan (8) lost to Netherlands (10) 1-3; Armenia (8) lost to Ukraine (10) 0.5-3.5; England (8) lost to Bulgaria (9) 1-3; Italy (7) lost to India (9) 1.5-2.5 (Elena Sedina drew with D Harika, Tania Sachdev lost to Olga Zimina, Elionora Ambrosi lost to Swati Ghate, Mary Ann Gomes bt Marina Brunello); Mongolia (9) bt Israel (7) 3-1; Slovenia (8) drew with Azerbaijan (8) 2-2.

Chess: Chess Olympiad: Indian eves crush Germany

Asian champion Tania Sachdev maintained her superb form to beat Ketino Kachiani-Gersinka, while Mary Ann Gomes accounted for Sarah Hoolt as the Indian women’s team beat Germany ’1′ 3-1 in the fourth round of the 32nd Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany.

However, the Indian men lost narrowly to top seeds Russia in the Open section after P Harikrishna’s heroic efforts, that netted him a victory over Peter Svidler, went in vain.

The 1.5-2.5 loss at the hands of the best team in the Olympiad saw the Indians slip to joint 10th on six points out of a possible eight while Russia maintained a clean slate.

The lead is now shared by Russia and Germany ’1′. Both have eight points each and there are seven teams following them with seven points each.

The Indian men meet Austria in the next round.

In the women’s section, China outclassed Armenia by a huge 3.5-0.5 margin to share the lead with Poland, who downed Serbia 2.5-1.5.

With two teams on eight points, the Indian women are now joint-third on seven points and share the place with Russia, Georgia and Hungary, whom they meet in the next outing.

It all summed up well for the Indian eves as Tania came up with another fine performance on the second board to beat Ketino, a former Georgian who now plays for Germany.

Playing black, Tania employed a set-up akin to the Benoni and was duly rewarded when Ketino went for insipid play in the ensuing middle game.

Declaring her intentions to fight for a bloody battle, Tania marched her king side pawns early to gain control and Ketino’s counter-play did not materilise. The game lasted 41 moves.

Mary Ann Gomes also came good with her black pieces against Sarah who employed a harmless variation against the Sicilian Najdorf. It took 47 moves for Mary to score the full point.

Among the Indian men, Harikrishna was an impressive winner against Svidler who played the black side of a Grunfeld defense. Opting for tactical complications in the middle game, Harikrishna romped home in just 27 moves.

Krishnan Sasikiran did well to hold Vladimir Kramnik on the top board but the form of the Indians was found wanting on the last two boards as Surya Shekhar Ganguly and Sandipan Chanda went down against Alexander Grischuk and Alexander Morozevich respectively.

The Olympiad is a 11-round Swiss event and for the first time match points are used as a criteria instead of normal game points. For winning each match a team is awarded two points while in case a 2-2 result one point is awarded to both the teams.

The Indian men have thus far lost one and won three matches while the eves have done better by drawing one and winning three matches.

Chess: Indian eves hold Russia, Men beat El Salvador

This is a release from PTI about Indian eves holding Russia to a draw and the Men’s Team beating El Salvador

Dresden (Germany), Nov 16 (PTI) International Master Tania Sachdev guided India to a creditable draw against top seed Russia while her male compatriots thumped El Salvador to remain in joint lead after the third round of the 32nd Chess Olympiad here.

The Indian men’s resounding 3.5-0.5 win against El Salvador in the open section kept them in joint lead on six match points along with Russia, Armenia, Germany ’1′, Spain, Ukraine, Norway, England and Romania.

The Indians will meet Russia in the next round.

In the women section, Tania was a class act with her white pieces even though top rated Indian D Harika and Nisha Mohota lost their games against world women’s champion Alexandra Kosteniuk and Nadezhda Kosintseva, respectively.

On the fourth board the experience of Swati Ghate again came in handy as she defeated higher rated Ekaterina Korbut.

The Indian women slipped a bit in the standings after getting one point against the Russians but this result might go a long way in the overall standings of a depleted side without top player Koneru Humpy.

Tania stole the thunder against Tatiana in a Nimzo Indian defence game. Capitalising on a tactical error, Tania won an exchange on the 28th move and wrapped the issue in 42 moves.

Hungary, Armenia, China, Serbia, Poland and Georgia share the lead with six points apiece in the women’s section while Indian eves are now placed joint seventh on five.

In the biggest upset of the Olympiad thus far, 19th seed Norway defeated third seed China 2.5-1.5 in the open section. PTI

Women’s Hockey Team announced

The Indian Women’s Hockey Team has been announced. The team will be lead by Mamta Kharb

A list of 22 probables was announced on Monday for the women’s hockey Olympic qualifying tournament to be held in Kazan, Russia , from April 19 to 27. Announcing the names, Indian Women Hockey Federation said the list will be pruned to 18 for the event.Seasoned forward Mamta Kharb will lead the team while defender Suman Bala will be vice-captain.

The selection trials were held from 16th to 17th March at SAI Sub-Centre, Lucknow, a press release by the IWHF said.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Dipika Murty, Marita Tirkey, Poonam Toppo

Defenders: Binita Toppo, Suman Bala (VC), Rajwinder Kaur, Pushpa Pradhan.

Midfielders: Subhadra Pradhan, Gagandeep Kaur, Rosalind Ralte, Asunta Lakra, Th. Ranjita, Manorama Devi Forwards: Mamta Kharb (Captain), Saba Anjum, Surinder Kaur, Jasjeet Kaur, Ritu Rani, Deepika Thakur, Adline Kerketta, Rani Devi and Pritam Rani Siwach.