The Hindu : Sport / Chess : Indian men tame Armenia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 20, 2004

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Sport - Chess

Indian men tame Armenia

MALLORCA, OCT. 19. Surya Shekhar Ganguly produced a decisive victory on the fourth board to pave the way for India's notable 2.5-1.5 victory over fourth seed Armenia in the men's fifth round action of the 36th Chess Olympiad here on Tuesday.

While the Indian men maintained their winning streak, the women were held to a 1.5-1.5 draw by seventh seed Poland.

Following their fifth straight victory, India's men's team has 14 points from 20 games. The women's team, which had won all previous encounters, has 10.5 from a maximum of 15.

For India, playing with white pieces on the second and fourth boards, Viswanathan Anand drew with black against former World junior champion Levon Aronian. K. Sasikiran and P. Hari Krishna produced similar results against A. Rafael Vaganian and G. Smbat Lputian, respectively. All credit to Ganguly who overpowered Sargissain Gabrial, rated 52 rating points higher.

In the women's section, the sixth seeded Indian combination of Koneru Humpy, S. Vijayalakshmi and D. Harika drew with Iweta Radziewicz, Joanna Dworakowska and Marta Zielinska, in that order. Here, three-time champion China reinforced its position at the top by whipping England 3-0 on the top board.

Good show

In the fourth round, Grandmasters P. Hari Krishna and Abhijit Kunte came up with spirited performance to guide India to a 2.5-1.5 victory over the United States after Viswanathan Anand settled for an easy draw.

The big victory for the Indian team came on the second board when young gun Hari Krishna crashed through the defences of higher-rated Alexander Shabalov.

On the third board, Kunte grounded the experienced Alexander Goldin while on the fourth Sandipan Chanda went down fighting against Igor Novikov.

Hari Krishna played the white side of a Semi Slav and quickly secured an advantage after Shabalov conceded the Bishop pair advantage.

It took no time for the Indian to realise the hidden tactical possibilities in his position and he launched a direct offensive with a pawn sacrifice in the middle game.

Indian results (fourth round):

Men (vs. the U.S.): Alexander Onischuk drew with V. Anand; P. Hari Krishna bt Alexander Shabalov; Alexander Goldin lost to A. Kunte; S. Chanda lost to Igor Novikov.

Women (vs. the Netherlands): Peng Zhaoqin lost to Koneru Humpy; S. Vijayalakshmi drew with Tea Bosboom-Lanchava; D. Harika drew with Petra Schuurman.

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