Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and Women Grandmaster Swati Ghate guided the Indian women's team to an emphatic 2.5-0.5 victory over Turkey in the fifth round of the Women's Chess Olympiad in Turin.
The victory helped the Indians, seeded ninth, to move to joint fourth spot with eight rounds to come. The other Indian player D Harika drew her third round game.
At the top of the tables, top seed Russian dames suffered a shocking 1-2 defeat at the hands of Ukraine, with Natalia Zhukova scoring the winner on board one for her team against top Russian player Alexandra Kosteniuk.
The two other boards ended in draws after bitter fights, giving the Ukrainians a well-deserved victory.
The other big upset of the day was recorded by Hungary, who defeated defending champion China by a huge 2.5-0.5 margin.
For Hungary, the latest addition in the chess arsenal Hoang Thang Trang, formerly from Vietnam, played out a draw with Zhao Xue on the top board while on the remaining two boards, Ildiko Madl and Szidonia Vajda did the trick against Shen Yang and Hou Yifan respectively.
Russia remained in sole lead despite the debacle, inching to 12.5 points, while Ukraine is now a close second, just half point behind the leaders.
In third spot is Hungary on 11.5 points and as many as seven teams including USA, Romania and
India are in close pursuit having 11 points each.
While the Indian victory against Turkey was expected, the way it came revived the medal hopes for the Indian eves.
Koneru Humpy yet again led from the front and coasted to her fourth victory in five games on the top board for India.
Playing white against Ekaterina Atalik-Polovnikova, a former Russian who is now married to GM Suat Atalik of Turkey, Humpy played a fine game to beat the highest ranked member of the opposition.
It was a queen pawn game yet again by Humpy that proved a tough nut for Polovinikova as she slowly got in to a minus position. Humpy was merciless in her quest.
Also winning with relative ease was Swati Ghate, who gave another sparkling performance that netted her second victory on the trot.
After a comprehensive victory against higher ranked Nan Dzagnidze in the previous round game, Ghate again got white pieces as Mary Ann Gomes was dropped for this round and made most of her opportunities to romp home victorious against Ozturk Kubra on the third board.
On the second board, D Harika played a solid game with black against Zehra Topel to ensure a smooth victory for India.
Important results round 5:
Ukraine (12) beat Russia (12.5) 2-1; Bulgaria (11) drew with USA (11) 1.5-1.5; Hungary (11.5) beat China (10) 2.5-0.5; Estonia (10) lost to Romania (11) 1-2; Lithuania (10) lost to Spain (11) 1-2; Israel (9) lost to Mongolia (11) 0.5-2.5; Germany (9.5) drew with Italy A (9.5) 1.5-1.5; Vietnam (9.5) lost to Slovakia (10.5) 1-2; Armenia (11) beat Greece (9) 2.5-0.5; India (11) beat Turkey (8.5) 2.5-0.5; Turkmenistan (9) lost to Georgia (10) 1-2; Slovenia (11) beat Australia (8) 3-0; Kazakhstan ( 10.5) beat Mexico (8.5) 2.5-0.5; Argentina (8) lost to Poland (10) 0.5-2.5; Belarus (9) drew with Cuba (9) 1.5-1.5; Salvador (9.5) beat Ecuador (8.5) 2-1; Czech Republic (7.5) lost to Latvia (9.5) 0.5-2.5; France (10) beat Malaysia (7) 3-0; Sweden ( 7.5) lost to Serbia & Montenegro (9.5) 0.5-2.5; Uzbekistan (8.5) drew with Venezuela (8.5) 1.5-1.5.
Indian board results: Koneru Humpy beat Ekaterina Atalik-Polovnikova; Zehra Topel drew with D Harika; Swati Ghate beat Ozturk Kubra.
© 2024 Rediff.com -