The Hindu : Sasikiran scores an unexpected win

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

Sport

Sport - Chess

Sasikiran scores an unexpected win

By Our Chess Correspondent

CHENNAI, FEB. 18. World No.39 ranked K. Sasikiran scored an expected first round victory over grandmaster Vladimir Kosyrev of Russia while the other Indians had a mixed opening day in the third Aeroflot Open chess tournament being played at Hotel Russia in Moscow on Tuesday.

Opening day saw the favourites struggling but eleventh seed Sasikiran put it across Kosyrev with the white pieces in a queen's gambit, Tartakower variation, playing with some degree of authority to win. Sasikiran is one among the 63 players with one victory in the 203-player nine round Swiss format Group A event.

The opening round saw none of the top four seeds on the winning side. While three of them including the top seed only drew, third seed Alexei Aleksandrov of Belarus lost to Russian grandmaster Marat Makarow. Top seed and world No.18 Vladimir Malakhov, 23, of Russia who had just entered the 2700 rating club was held to a draw by fellow Russian, grandmaster Sergey Grigoriants.

Overall, the Indians had a mixed result winning and losing one game each and drawing three in Group A while they won and lost two games each in Group B where they were expected to do better. All three draws by Sandipan Chanda, Praveen Thipsay and Neelotpal Das came from the white side against higher rated opponents. Chanda held former world junior champion Levon Aronian of Armenia to a creditable draw.

The lone defeat for the Indians in the Group A section came when the world's youngest grandmaster Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine beat Lanka Ravi with the white pieces. The tournament is packed mainly with grandmasters that Ravi is paired with Sergey Zagrebelny, a grandmaster from Uzbekistan in the second round.

In Group B, second seeded Tejas Bakre moved up with a victory with the black pieces. The second Indian to post a victory in this section was Dinesh Kumar Sharma of LIC, Kanpur who overcame IWM Turkan Mamedyarova of Azerbaijan with the black pieces. Bakre and Sharma have one point each and are among the leaders.

The two Chennai IMs had a dismal start losing to lower rated opponents. International Master Konguvel lost with the white pieces to 41-year old untitled Ilandzis of Greece. The even higher rated IM Sundararajan Kidambi lost with the black pieces to lower rated IM Umut Atakisi of Turkey.

Important and Indian round one results: Group A: V. Malakhov (Rus) drew S.Grigoriants (Rus); Y.Kruppa (Ukr) drew A.Dreev (Rus); A. Aleksandrov (Blr) lost to M. Makarov (Rus); V.Neverov (Ukr) drew V. Bologan (Mda); J.Lautier (Fra) bt L.Yurtaev (Kgz); A.Iljushin (Rus) drew A.Khalifman (Rus); K. Sasikiran bt V. Kosyrev (Rus); S.Chanda drew L.Aronian (Arm); P.M.Thipsay drew M.Ulibin (Rus); Sergey Karjakin (Ukr) bt Lanka Ravi; Neelotpal Das drew A.Areshchenko (Ukr).

Group B: G.Van der Stricht (Bel) drew Z.Mamedyarova (Aze); Ilusha Tsigelnitskiy (Rus) lost to Tejas Bakre; Umut Atakisi (Tur) bt S.Kidambi; Turkan Mamedyarova (Aze) lost to Dinesh K.Sharma; P.Konguvel lost to Spyridon Ilandzis (Gre).

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