The Hindu : Sport / Chess : Women in men's shadow

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2004

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Sport - Chess

Women in men's shadow

By Our Special Correspondent

MALLORCA (SPAIN), OCT. 24. It is a pity that, in most situations, women have to play second fiddle to their male counterparts. It is no different in sports, even if it is chess.

Take for instance, the on going Chess Olympiad. Although the Chinese women have been killing the opposition with almost ridiculous ease, their exploits find a mention only after the far closer race in the men's section.

Even if we zero in on India's performances so far in the competition, the men have hogged all the attention. With Viswanathan Anand around, it could not have been any different. But the consistency shown by the Indian quartet — K. Humpy, S. Vijayalakshmi, D. Harika and Nisha Mohota — has been quite remarkable.

While all the focus stayed on Anand and his men, Humpy and Vijayalakshmi have quietly placed India among the medal contenders. And after nine rounds, the Indian women are fourth, while the men are sixth.

Spectacular show

Before leaving India, Humpy was expected to show the way. So far, she has done just that. She has not taken a `drop' in any of the nine games so far and collected six points from them. She may be the only one in the team to have lost a game, but then she has won four games, as well. The way Humpy is going, she looks well set to play all the 14 games on the top board. All this in her first Olympiad appearance!

Vijayalakshmi, who won two individual silver medals from the top board in the last two Olympiads, has also lived up to the expectations. Undefeated and three victories behind her, Vijayalakshmi pulled off two points from the last three rounds against higher rated opponents from USA, France and Ukraine. With the most seasoned campaigner in the team showing signs of peaking at the right time, things obviously look bright.

But the "find" of this Olympiad surely looks like D. Harika. This debutant has been engaged in draws in all her six games.

The Andhra girl, who holds the unique record of being the youngest ever to qualify for the National `A' championships, separately for men and women, has proved a solid performer, thanks to her preparation.

Nisha Mohota has used her experience to contribute usefully as and when her services were called as a reserve.

She won the first two rounds against lowly rivals and then produced draws in matches against Hungary and France to keep India undefeated.

No doubt, this is India's strongest team ever in the Olympiad. But still a lot of work needs to be done.

India is yet to face China and Georgia. Former champion Georgia has been struggling like never before. Should India come out honourably against these teams and hit one or two teams really hard, entry into the medal bracket looks a distinct possibility.

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