The Indian Express
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Men go down to Russia, women move up to second
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Posted online: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 at 0000 hours IST
MALLORCA, OCTOBER 25: Fighting hard, the Indian men suffered a 1.5-2.5
defeat against top seed and defending champion Russia in the 9th round of
the 36th Chess Olympiad at the gran casino here. There was cause for cheer
in ghe women’s section, however, with India, led by Grandmaster Koneru
Humpy, beating Ukraine to be placed second.
World rapid champion Viswanathan Anand crashed through the defences of
Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich and gave India an early lead while Krishnan
Sasikiran also came good on the second board, getting an easy draw playing
black against Russian champion Peter Svidler. But while Surya Sekhar Ganguly
was outdone from a complicated position by Vadim Zvjaginsev, P Harikrishna
missed out against Alexander Dreev.
Russia, with 24.5 points, moved closer to leaders Ukraine after the win but
remain 2.5 points adrift.
With just five more rounds remaining, the US was the biggest gainer of the
day, moving to sole third spot with 24 points after drubbing Spain ‘A’
3.5-0.5. Armenia and third seed Israel are joint fourth with 23 points while
the Indians share the sixth spot on 22.5 along with Switzerland, Bulgaria,
France, Slovenia, Azerbaijan and Cuba. Poland and Moldova are next in line
on 22 points each.
Anand was brilliance personified as he outplayed Morozevich in an extremely
complicated game arising out of a Sicilian Defence and leading to a hedgehog
setup. Going for an opening surprise, Sasikiran employed the Tchigorin
variation in the Ruy Lopez rather than his normal Brayer and it appeared as
if Svidler was not well-prepared. Getting the normal complications in the
middle game, Sasikiran was the first to simplify matters as he went for
routine exchanges on the queen side to maintain the balance. In the women’
section, GM Koneru Humpy guided India to a 2-1 victory to elevate the team
to joint second spot. Playing on the top board, Humpy was undeterred by some
near ominous defence by Natalia Zhukova and recorded an impressive victory
for India, Vijayalakshmi managed a draw with Inna Gaponenko, while
Dronavalli Harika did well to hold Kateryna Lahno on the third board to
complete the Indian victory.
The battle for gold, though, appears almost over for the other teams as
China scored a comprehensive 3-0 victory, cruising past Lithuania in another
one sided contest. China’s tally now stands at 23.5 points, a massive
six-point lead over nearest rivals Russia, USA, Hungary and India.